This is an enchanting story about a young boy who has his life flipped upside down in the blink of an eye. But has he jumped out of the frying pan into the fire?

You would hope that anything would be better than surviving from petty thieving or risking to be caught not only by the authorities but even worse, by Scatcherd, a career criminal controlling the district where Danny our main character lives.

But all this seems to come to an end when Danny somehow becomes the one unexpected variable that tip the balance in the favour of Mr Jameson, owner of the Bellevue menagerie, during an auction that will see him becoming the owner of an African elephant named Maharajah.

If only Mr Jameson had taken his elephant and left, things would have been so much easier, but Mr Jameson is a risk taker or a greedy man with a good heart (whichever way you choose to see it), so he accepts an impossible wager from a competing menagerie whose only wish is to see the end of Bellevue and that’s how Danny newly renamed Indian prince with all the accoutrement to suit, is to take Maharajah in a race against time from Edinburgh to Manchester in less than 7 days, otherwise Mr Jameson will lose all to the competing menagerie.

This lovely tale, will see our Danny whose only loyalties are to himself change and take the risk to open his heart to his adopted family, the menagerie, something he’s never had to do before. He will make friends and face dangers with them, until he gets to Manchester and his new life as a prince will end. Or will it?

I thoroughly enjoyed “The Elephant Thief”. It was a lovely adaptation to an apparently true story.

Happy to recommend to all.

Thanking Team @chickenhsebooks for providing me with a copy of this title

LaChouett