K-Gr 3-- This well-researched, beautifully illustrated picture book tells how the 19th-century elephant, Jumbo, `` . . . the largest animal in captivity . . . ,'' came to the U. S. as part of P. T. Barnum's circus. Carefully incorporating historical fact into her narrative, Blumberg captures the sense of wonder and ballyhoo that surrounded the world's most famous beast. The text also conveys a sense of the special relationship between Jumbo and his loyal keeper, Matthew Scott. An ``Author's Note'' provides additional background details. Full-color illustrations, including many double-page spreads, make this look at a unique social phenomenon an excellent choice for classroom read-alouds. --Barbara B. Murphy, Shaler Area School District Libraries, Pittsburgh
Jumbo was a great African elephant whose name has become our word for "huge", but he started out as a scrawny outsider. It was his keeper, Matthew Scott, himself a lonely bachelor, who loved Jumbo, nurtured him, and fed him until he grew into "the largest animal in captivity"--the star attraction, first, at the London Zoo in Victorian England, and then at Barnum's Circus in nineteenth-century America. Blumberg is one of our best nonfiction storytellers, and in this dramatic picture book she and artist Hunt evoke the period, the hype of public appearance, and also the personal affection between Jumbo and his keeper. The water color illustrations, which exhibit extraordinary depth and detail, vary from poster-style art to realistic views of landscape and people; some of the best scenes juxtapose Victorian ladies and gentlemen and the gigantic animal with his trunk and tusks and great flapping ears. Unfortunately, the book ends abruptly. In a fine afterword Blumberg tell us quietly of how the elephant was killed by a train and how his keeper faded away and died in an almshouse. That would have been a hard scene to show, and the final painting of Jumbo and Scott splashing in a stream together is delightful--but you turn the page expecting the story to continue.