Mela and the Elephant

Phumiruk (Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines) takes readers to the country of her birth in an instructive contemporary fable about kindness, set in a village in Northern Thailand. A girl named Mela sets off to explore the nearby banks of the Ping River, refusing to bring along her younger brother. "What will you give me if I take you?" she asks, but he has nothing. The decision comes back to bite her after she's swept away by the current and winds up far from home. Mela meets a crocodile, leopard, and monkeys, who ask her the same question she asked her brother when she requests their assistance. She offers them her belongings, which they take--and then abandon her. Eventually, an elephant arrives to help and deliver the book's central message that "kindness needs no reward." It's not a subtle story, but it's still a potentially useful tool for conversations about generosity, and Chen's digital artwork, rendered in an array of creamy greens, brings the verdant setting to life. Ages 7-8. Author's agent: Deborah Warren, East-West Literary. Illustrator's agent: Mela Bolinao, MB Artists. (Mar.)