Bashi, Elephant Baby - Hardcover

Characteristic of this British team's earlier collaborations (The Snow Leopard, 1994, not reviewed, etc.), danger in the wild lurks in the form of predators until safety can be restored, but this time a slight story takes a backseat to lifelike, illustrated, natural-history dioramas about an endangered baby elephant. Bashi's first day of life finds him bogged down in the slurpy mud banks of an African watering hole, surrounded by hungry lionesses eager to make a meal of him. Bashi's mother, Neo, tries to lift the young calf with her trunk so that he does not remain a defenseless target. The threat of three lionesses provides the sole suspense as other elephant herd members attempt to aid Neo in freeing young Bashi. Sandy colors light up a sky awash in a tangerine-colored sunrise; a Mount Rushmore of lioness faces peers out of golden grasses. Butler's highly delineated wildlife studies lend a realism to each scene leading up to the rescue of Bashi, who is soon enveloped again in the comforting protection of the herd. (Picture book. 3-8) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 4^-8. A small African drama is played out here as if seen through the dusty lens of a nature photographer's camera. It is the powerful illustrations that fuel this story of a newborn elephant and her protective family as they are sized up by a pride of hungry lionesses. Bashi was born to Neo overnight, but now she must move with the herd to the watering hole. It is there that the baby elephant gets stuck near the muddy bank, making herself easy prey. Mother Neo must foil the snarling lionesses while trying to free the newborn from the muddy trap. Some may have played this as a frantic action story, but instead, each scene looks as though it were shot in slow motion. There is time to notice every detail, whether it's the wiry hairs on the warthog's snout or the shape of the baobab tree. Bathed in the golden color of the equatorial sun, this is a beautifully executed book that will be quietly appreciated. Denia Hester