The Elephant and the Purim Crown

K-Gr 3–A young girl named Rachel is excited for the Purim festival in Burma, where she hopes to win the Purim crown. On the way to the celebration, she sees an elephant and pays for a ride. At first she feels like Queen Esther, but then she sees the cracks and bruises on the elephant’s legs and doesn’t want to ride him anymore. When she wins the crown, she decides to use it to rescue the elephant. Simple text recounts this story, which has a happy but unrealistic ending. The elephant owner refuses the crown and instead gives the elephant to Rachel because she showed love to him. He does this after saying, “My elephant has worked for many years, carrying people on her back. They expect rides. I expect rupees.” It is unlikely that one girl showing compassion would convince a merchant to give his elephant away. Illustrations are simple, depicting the landscape. Back matter includes information about the author’s mother who lived in Burma and about the mass exodus of the Jewish community in the 1960s. There is little explanation of the Purim celebration.