My Backyard Elephant

“Some kids grow up with cats or dogs, but I grew up with an elephant named Cara” “During nights when the trees sounded like they were whispering, Cara would rumble really loud. On those nights I would tiptoe through the hall, tiptoe through the living room, and tiptoe outside to see her.”

My Backyard Elephant is a playful yet heartfelt story about an orphaned elephant finding a place to call home, and the decisions a child must make when it becomes obvious that some animals are too big for backyards. Inspired by the research of environmental communications doctoral candidate Jason Derry, and with illustrations by Elise Gilchrist, who spent two years studying elephant behavior in Thailand, depictions of Cara are rooted firmly in current scientific understandings of elephant behavior and are designed with education in mind. To reinforce the educational value of such a text, a two-page scientific literacy afterward expands on who elephants are in the wild. 33% of all profits from the sale of this book will be donated to elephant causes worldwide.