Why a Booktrail?
2000s:What can elephants teach us about life?
An Elephant in My Kitchen
What you need to know before your trail
A blonde, chic Parisienne, Françoise never expected to find herself living on a South African game reserve. But when she fell in love with renowned conservationist Lawrence Anthony her life took an unexpected turn. Lawrence died in 2012 and Françoise was left to face the tough reality of running Thula Thula without him, even though she knew very little about conservation. She was short on money, poachers were threatening their rhinos, and one of their elephants was charging Land Rovers on game drives and terrifying guests. There was no time to mourn when Thula Thula’s human and animal family were depending on her.
How Françoise survived and Thula Thula thrived is beautifully described in this charming, funny and poignant book.
Travel Guide
Thula Thula Game reserve South Africa
Thula Thula
The Thula Thula game reserve which is both the story itself and where the story unfolds is a very real place which still exists and where you can stay and see the elephants for yourself
Elephant wisdom
When a lost elephant comes into the herd, without friends, never having seen another elephant before:
The minute Nana and Frankie set eyes on the frightened teenager, they lumbered up to the fence and ‘talked’ to her. floating their trunks between the electric wires to touch her”
I was on awe of our herd’s compassion and tenderness with her. they accepted this troubled youngster without hesitation and during the first few months she was never ever alone. One of the older females was always close to her. Sometimes I think that elephants have a great sense or community an responsibility towards one another than humans will ever have.”
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
If this is not the cutest book you;ll read this year, I don’t know what is. It’s a lesson of hope and resilience and a lesson we should all, as humans learn. Elephants are amazing and I applaud this woman for doing what she’s doing and bringing awareness to us all about how we can learn from these giant beasts. The stories of how elephants help each other, warm to each pother, support and nuture each other is fascinating and I can’t believe some of the stories to be honest – they’re so heartwarming and made me teary eyed.
The story is not all love and roses however – infact the main part is the struggle of getting this reserve to how it is today, how the author went against everything and everyone she knew in many ways to follow her dream. And there’s a lovely afterword to tell you the updates of what happened next.
Delightful and needs to be on the screen at some point. I can help pick the cast – what a lovely job that would be!
Booktrail Boarding Pass: An Elephant in My Kitchen
Destination : South Africa Author/Guide: Françoise Malby-Anthony Departure Time: 2000s
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