A gentle story about sadness showing that sometimes all you need to
feel better is the openness of someone who accepts you as you are.
A Financial Times Best Children's Book of 2021
This is a subtle story about an elephant who is feeling sorrowful, and
nothing seems to interest him or lift his spirits. Illustrated with a
striking contrast between shadow and light, the moody blue elephant
appears to live in a different world from his colorful savanna friends.
Empathy is a tricky emotion for children and adults alike to grasp, but
The Shadow Elephant manages to walk the line between sadness,
understanding, and emotional connection. Here we witness, in a story
that unfolds at a natural, gentle pace, that it's okay to be sad and to
show it, and that this sorrow is not necessarily a problem to be fixed,
but is a feeling to acknowledge without judgement. This simple act of
acceptance and validating another creature's feelings is subtle, yet, it
is an essential step to true empathy.