Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People, and War

In the book, "Faithful Elephants", three elephants that lived in a Korean zoo during the war had to be killed. It was mandatory that they be killed in case bombs hit the zoo, no dangerous animals would be able to escape. This book describes the agony the zoo keepers went through by having to starve

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the elephants to death. It gives a small insight of how intense this time in history was.

This is a sad, yet phenomenal book. It is so well written that you can almost feel the grief and compassion the characters in this book felt. This is definitely a book that is easy to get lost in. I do not feel that this book is appropriate to read to young children, but it would be suitable for secondary education.

To incorporate this book into the classroom, I would read this book aloud to middle our high school students in history class when studying this war. I would allow the students to discuss what they thought of the book, and how it effects their view of that time in history.

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This book would be great as a conspiracy theory since not that many people know about this particular story. In Japan during WWII, the zoo in a particular city had to kill the animals in the zoo. They did this because if a bomb were to hit the zoo and the wild animals got loose they could harm the

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people. The book is focused on how the zoo keepers had to kill these three elephants that they loved so much. They had to use various techniques to kill the elephants and it hurt the zoo keepers very much. The elephants ended up dying. This is a very sad story. It would be good to use for class discussion, reading aloud, and have students write author-notes. The authors words evoke strong emotions. Interesting fact: This book is read every year in Japan on the radio.

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This story begins painting the scene of a beautiful day at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. A caretaker stands by a monument and tells the story about three loving elephants. The caretaker talks about a time during the war when they worried about a bomb being dropped on the zoo. They were worried the animals

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would escape and further endanger the public. He spoke about how they poisoned the lions, tigers, and bears. Then he speaks of the elephants. John, Tonky, and Wanly were three beloved elephants. The keepers tried to poison John but he was to smart and threw the poison potatoes away. They had to starve the elephants instead of poisoning them. It took a long time for the elephants to die. The keepers could not bare to walk by the cages of the elephants because the elephants would try to do there tricks for food; this broke the keepers hearts and made them cry. One day a keeper walked by and found the elephants dead still reaching for food like they died doing there tricks.

This was a heart breaking book. I really cried during this book. The author and illustrator did wonderful jobs bringing the true pain and emotion to the readers.

This would be a good book to include during history lessons. I think it could be worked in to show the effects of war on every part of a society including all the forgotten animals. Older students could further study the effects of disasters on things such as Zoos and Aquariums in the midst of chaos.

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This story takes place in Tokyo, Japan during World War II. Japan was at war and bombs were dropping on Tokyo every day and night. Authorities feared that if the zoo were destroyed, the animals might accidentally be freed and wreak havoc on the city. By command of the Army lions, tigers, leopards,

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bears and big snakes were poisoned to death. The story goes on to tell about the fate of three loving elephants whose lives were doomed as well. Even though zoo keepers did want these animals to die, plans were made to poison the elephants with their favorite foods. When this did not work other actions were taken. In the end zoo keepers reluctantly made the decision to starve the elephants and deprive them of water. The begging elephants performed tricks in hope of receiving food and water. This was a slow, painful death for the elephants that everyone loved so well. Zoo keepers watched helplessly with broken hearts as the elephants weakened. The faithful elephants last moments of life were spent trying to get food by performing tricks.

This is a powerful story that will tug at your heart and bring tears to your eyes. The pictures in the story are painted in watercolor and relates to the text of the story very well. This book could easily be extended into a chapter book. Although I liked this book I would not read it to my four year old daughter. I’m not sure young children would understand the true meaning behind this emotional story.

I would use this book in a high school class as a teaching tool while learning about World War II. Students could also find other short stories on wars and compare and contrast the material. After reading this story students could find Tokyo and Japan on a map. For a math lesson students could figure out the distance between the town they live in and Tokyo.

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This book is about the animals at the Tokyo Zoo during World War II. It is a very sad book about how they killed the dangerous animals in order to save the humans. This would not be a good book for younger children. Older children, however, could have a good discussion about it.

Written in 1951. Illustrator used watercolor throughout text. The colors reflect the somber heaviness of this subject. Tsuchiya is a prolific writer and critic of Japanese children's literature. Translated from Japanese.

Faithful elephants would be a good story to read before discussing war stories or war topics. It is a true story about the abuse of animals during a war. It should only be read to older children.

Not only is this book a great read, it teaches a lesson and does not portray America as the enemy, but rather war in general. It will bring a tear to your eye. This book does not graphical illustrate the death of these elephants, rather it tells of the tremendous pain felt by the zookeepers. These

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elephants loved the zookeepers and they loved them and this book shows how war not only effects soldiers but the lives of many

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This book should only be read to 4th and 5th grade students due to the nature of the book. This is a sad protrayal of the animals in zoo during times of war. People were scared the animals would get lose during an attack and would harm innocent people, so they had to put them down. The book

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especially highlights three elephants and their trainers.

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Review: Faithful Elephants is a true story set in the time of World War II. John, Wanly, and Tonky were three elephants at the Ueon Zoo in Tokyo, Japan during WWII. Bombs were going off throughout the entire city and the people were scared that is the bombs were to destroy the Zoo the animals would

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escape and be among the people in the town. One by One they killed the animals and then there were the elephants. They tried multiple things, but nothing would work until they came upon starvation. They starved the poor elephants until they were gone. Faithful Elephants show more to the stories of World War II.

Reaction: This was a sad book and it was hard not to cry because I am an animal lover. This book did, however, open up my eyes to all that needs to happen in the war and all the worries about things like the Zoo( that i would have never thought about).

Extension: I would not read this book aloud in my classroom, but I would have it on the shelves or in stack when talking about WWII. I could use this book for an older classroom to discuss some of things that need to happen to cities when going through a war that has bombing and such, and use this book as an example of what could happen,

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A powerful book that will challenge any reader to keep a dry eye. It provides a perspective that is unique and the fact that it is true makes this book a perfect choice for middle year students for Remebrance Day.

Audience: Grade 3 to 8
When Tokyo was being heavily bombed during World War II, the Army decided to put down all zoo animals so that they would not escape in case the facilities were targeted. One by one, animals were poisoned to death. The elephants, however, proved too hard to kill. Too smart,

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they would not eat the poisoned food. Too strong, needles would not pierce their skin. They were left to starve to death. The zoo staff could not stand witnessing the beautiful animals wither, so they walked away. The three elephants died of hunger and thirst. To honor their suffering, a monument was raised, and their ashes rest in a tombstone at the Ueno Zoo.

Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People, and War is as beautiful as it is sad. The delicate watercolor illustrations contrast with the heaviness of the story. The reader is faced with the same sense of helplessness experienced by the staff—to see such majestic creatures die without being able to intervene. The story reminds readers that war claims many victims, some of them unknown to us. Faithful Elephants is a powerful antiwar account that helps children understand the loss and sadness associated with war. Because of its strong message and easy to understand language, the book is suitable not only for the lower grades, but it also makes a great addition in classrooms where students need access to content but are lacking skills. Readers of all ages can enjoy this touching tale, and teachers can use the book to start discussions about war and its cost, animal rights, and human responsibility.

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The people of Tokyo could have been put in danger if the zoo got bombed, so they killed the dangerous animals; three elephants tried to stay alive.

Summary: This book is about a zoo in Japan during WWII who had to kill the animals due to the fear that the animals if a bomb were to fall on the zoo would escape and run amok.

Reaction: This book wouldn't be for a young audience but I think it would suit an older audience and should be used in

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schools to extend WWII in a literary sense.

Extension #1: The class could make mobiles to hang from the ceiling of elephants.

Extension #2: I could ask them how they would feel if all the animals in the zoo were gone one day.

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SUMMARY: This story takes place in the midst of a war. It shows the perspective of a zoo, and how the war affects not only the zoo keepers, but the animals as well. The animals must all be killed in order to prevent catastrophe if the animals escape during a bombing or other unfortunate event. All

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of the animals are killed, however the elephant keepers have a terrible time killing their beloved friends. Their attempts are heart breaking, and cause an extreme impact on the reader.
PERSONAL REACTION: This book left me with a heavy heart. I felt as though it sent a great message, however it is not appropriate for all age levels.
CLASSROOM EXTENSION: This would be a great asset to a lesson over point of view. I would also incorporrate this in a lesson about finding multiple solutions to one problem.

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Summary: This is about a zoo in Japan during WWII where the keepers had to kill the animals because they were scared that the war would start there and that they would get bombed. Main focus was on the elephants and how the trainer struggled to let them go. No one wanted to see the elephants

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go.

Reflection: I would not recommend this book for younger kids. It is more for older kids who are learning about history and WWII. It is too sad for younger kids.

Classroom Extension:
1. History lesson of WWII
2. Do voice for trainer and narrator.

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This picture book has illustrations are done in water color.
The story is set during World War II in Japan. Due to bombings, the Japanese Army instructed the zoo keepers to kill the animals at the Ueno Zoo to prevent the animals from escaping and running through the streets. This sad story

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describes how war can affect even animals. Students in English Language Arts can find metaphorical or allegorical components; Students in social studies can identify ethical dilemmas and the horrors of war. This is a picture book that could be used effectively at the secondary level as it ties in with the social studies curriculum (WWII, Asia) and the English Language Arts curriculum. The illustrations are engaging and the story thought provoking. This books shows that even picture books can be added to the secondary curriculum and can still be appropriate for high school aged students.

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I have heard about this book for years, but have never read it until now. My initial impression is that it teaches a powerful story about loss in war through the characters nearly all children can relate to - animals. My recommendation is that teachers read this to themselves first so that they can

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effectively plan how to approach the read aloud with children. No matter the age, students will require a significant amount of process and connection time. This book should be read aloud with children!

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What a wonderful picture book depicting the plight of the animals (particularly the elephants) at the Tokyo zoo during WWII. The zoo decides to kill all the animals for fear of them getting loose during a nuclear attack. The elephants are the last to die. Their trainers are torn apart by what they

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see but must continue with the plan.

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This is among the most heart-wrenching picture books ever written. Plainly anti-war sentiment in a true story. I had to read this one through the tears and have a good cry after I finished. In the short term, I regretted reading it because it really brought me down, but in the long term I loved the

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book for all that it was.

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A zookeeper recounts the story of John, Tonky, and Wanly, three performing elephants at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, whose turn it is to die, and of their keepers, who weep and pray that World War II will end so their beloved elephants might be saved.

I read this book in class and I really enjoyed it. It was very sad, but the story was interesting. It takes place during World War II, in a zoo in Tokyo. The Japanese army wanted the zoos to kill their large dangerous animals incase they were to escape during the war. There were three elephants who

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the story was about, John, Wanly, and Tonky. These beloved elephants fought hard to not die, but in the end were starved to death. Their memory lives on today and the zookeeper was the one telling the story. It was upsetting to hear this story, and I thought that it wasn't a story that children should be reading. The illustrations were good, and the language was easy to read, but the plot was very disturbing. This book does push readers to think about tough issues that have happened. I liked it because it was a true story, but I didn't like it because it was sad.

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This book was very informative about Japanese culture, and war. I specifically think that the message was to captivate a bigger picture about how animals are mistreated, and imagine if those same things happened to people during a bombing session. I also think that it is a sad, and controversial

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book for children, but it definitely is important for them to know specifically about war, and how war impacts not only humans, but also animals. I also felt like there was a lot of animal rights, and relationships between animals and humans, and I noted this in the story when the two elephants are being starved, and it said that when they died, their trunks remained up, as if they were to do a trick for food. This clearly showed the bond between humans and animals.

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I had mixed feelings about this book after reading it. I liked the book because it pushed readers to think about tough issues such as war and starving animals. But I did not like the writing because of how detailed the author described the elephants that were starving to death. I thought the

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writing was extremely sad and I do not know if children could handle reading a picture book without getting upset when I am 20 years old and barely could. I think the message of the story is for people to consider the greater impact war has not only innocent civilians, but innocent animals as well. I think often times people only draw attention to the impact war has on the soldiers when in reality there is so much more to it than that.

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