Tarra & Bella: The Elephant and Dog Who Became Best Friends by Carol Buckley

Tarra & Bella: The Elephant and Dog Who Became Best Friends by Carol Buckley

Rating: 4 stars

If you're the type who cries at Hallmark commercials, make sure you have a tissue handy when you read this.  It is the true, sweet story of Tarra the elephant (that used to be on Little House in the Prairie) who retired to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee.  Tarra was the first of five elephants, but the only one without a best friend.  Until a stray dog, Bella, came into the picture.  They become inseparable, and manage to find each other even after Bella has a strange and life-threatening injury (from which she recovers--whew!). 



Tarra gentle pats Bella with her trunk.

 Lorelei's in the elephant class in her school; we're all about elephants these days.  So I couldn't pass this book up when I found out about it.  The story is told in simple words and there are a ton of photographs to accompany each sentence, especially the heart-warming page when they are reunited after Bella's injury.  It left me wanting a little more story, but the pictures are really what Lorelei and Ben love.  There are a few pages in the back that tell you/your child more about the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, and a portion of the book's profits go towards the sanctuary.

In all, a good book for a good cause.  Worth checking out, if not buying!