Mosey: The Remarkable Friendship of a Boy and His Elephant

Grade 4-8 A true story of Bram Gunterstein, the son of a circus trainer, and a beloved elephant named Mosey. Born on the same day in 1896, the two were inseparable at Wunderzircus, a small German circus. Bram promised his dying father that he would take care of Mosey but Mr. North, her new owner, doesn't include the young handler in his plans to move the show overseas. Syrupy sentimentality gives way to engaging action when Bram stows away aboard the freighter bound for India. Ultimately he is detected after weeks of hiding in the straw among the elephants and is given the job of tending to the herd. He bravely unchains their legs when a fierce storm breaks up the ship. He finds Mosey floating in the ocean and they survive for days until an Indian ferryboat scoops the elephant up on deck using a cargo net. A short postscript informs readers that the pair eluded Mr. North and they lived together happily ever after in India and America. The author notes the story "is as true as I could make it," but the obvious fictionalizing and lengthy passages of dialogue might raise questions about the realm of possibility. The appeal will be the heartwarming relationship between Bram and his oversized friend and the story will make a great read-aloud for younger students. -Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 5-8. Helfer's fictionalized account of several months in the lives of Bram Gunterstein and Mosey, a circus elephant, is an unusual but engaging combination of adventure-survival story and boy-and-his-pet tale. Born on a farm in Germany during the same hour in the year 1896, Bram and Mosey were raised together and shared a special bond. When Bram is 13, his father, a circus elephant trainer, dies, and shortly thereafter, Mosey and the circus are sold. Unable to imagine life without the elephant, Bram stows away on the ship that is taking Mosey to the U.S., a trip that nearly ends in tragedy when a hurricane wrecks the ship. Helfer's writing is occasionally stilted and overly sentimental, but it improves dramatically when the action picks up. There are some exciting descriptions of the hurricane, the foundering ship, the time in the water, and the rescue. Readers wanting a similar, fuller tale might want to take a look at Helfer's adult book Modoc (1997). Chris Sherman
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