Maram Taibah

Who didn't at one time, want to run away to join the circus?
Not me- but Yasmine and Yunis did!

In The Road to Elephants, the year is circa 1920 in Saudi Arabia. The parents of Yasmine and Yunis have been gone, doing missionary work, for five years- who does that? Anyway, they're left with their nanny, Dada Atra, who is cruel, stringent and quick to dish out physical punishment. No longer wishing to stay in their secure, prison-like palace, they decide they need to run away. Later, when they hear there's a circus nearby, they decide that's where they'll begin their new life; but the road is difficult.

The children run into terrible situations and cruel children too. It's not easy for them, offering truth to the adage: the grass isn't always greener on the other side. It's sad for the sibling duo and you find yourself overly concerned for them. I even wished they'd go back home- it had to be better!

The Road To Elephants, by Maram Taibah, is beautiful. It's a short story that stirs emotions and makes you want to reach into the book and cuddle the fragile 11 and 7-year olds. I adored this story and feel it needs a great deal of attention. Find out why while I dive into the next book on my list. "Next!"

*Book Review: http://tinyurl.com/ju9c4jm
**Book provided by Maram Taibah, for an honest review.… (meer)

The writer protrays a realistic view point of a young girls emotions and thoughts living under strict and harsh regime ran by the nanny while her parents are away on a pilgramage. When she hears a circus is in town it fuels her dreams and she plans to escape. She encounters danger on several different levels. There is one harrowing scene in the book which some readers might find disturbing. The moral of the story is that the grass is not always greener on the other side. For a short story this was full of emotion and feeling.… (meer)