Author: Ms. Ryke Leigh Douglas
Illustrator: Angel dela Pena
Publisher: Xlibris
ISBN: 978-1-4990-4952-7

Always stay close to your mother and your aunts! There are too many dangers,” Jabari warns Tumeleng in Ms. Ryke Leigh Douglas’s children’s book, The Tale of Tumeleng.

This oversized fifty-four-page paperback targets children ages five to ten years old or those who enjoy stories about elephants. With no extremely scary scenes, it is a story about a young elephant who learns it is best to listen to her parents. With usually black writing against cream-colored backgrounds on one side of the pages, the opposite sides contain easy-to-understand, colorful illustrations that follow the storyline.

In this short tale, a baby elephant named Tumeleng is born in the forest. Although her father, Jabari, no longer stays with the pack of roaming elephants seeking another watering hole, he is proud of his special girl. Ayanna, Tumeleng’s mother, teaches her young how to use her trunk, clean, cover herself with mud, and be aware if her surroundings.

However, the precocious child is adventurous, and more than once gets into trouble by not listening to her parents or aunts. Befriending a newcomer, she not only learns valuable lessons but also gets trapped and sees how dangerous elephant life can be.

This is an informative story that teaches young ones about elephants and their lifestyle through the eyes of one animal in the herd. I like that it also explains the elephants characteristics, features, and obstacles as well as poaching and friendship.

There are quite a few grammar, capitalization, and punctuation errors throughout the pages that should be corrected. Due to the length of the story and complicated wording, it would be best read out loud to beginner readers or those who cannot read.

A veteran educator, Douglas is devoted to helping children enjoy reading and books through her entertaining stories that promote positive attitudes, good character traits, and creative thinking. No information is given on the illustrator Pena.

Although I did appreciate learning about pachyderms, I wish the book had been professionally edited so children would not think the errors it contains are acceptable writing.

If you are looking for a story that is charming involving a young, cute but inquisitive elephant, this is a good one if you overlook the writing errors when reading it to children.

Thanks to Bookpleasures and Bohlsen Group for offering this book to review for my honest opinion.