Clara

Reviewed by: Paula Johnson - Long Island community Library, Long Island, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: November 6, 2016

Review

An exciting adventure through 18th century Europe with an exotic rhino and a devoted sea captain is the premise of this picture book based on an actual event. The author herself describes the book as a "mostly true" story, but it reads much more like fiction than non-fiction. A Dutch sea captain discovers an orphan pet baby rhino on a trip to India and decides to leave his sea faring life to share his exotic new companion with the Kings, Queens, and people of Europe. For 17 years he travels with his always growing, always hungry pet introducing Clara to massive crowds who come to see her. The story shows the friendship between the captain and his pet but may not ring true to children who have been encouraged to view animals more in their natural habitats. The detailed water color illustrations bring the time and place to life. The author's note fills in many of the facts about Clara and rhinos in general. The detailed maps also add important information to the story.

Overall Book Score: very good