Tony and His Elephants: Best Friends Forever!

Tony and His Elephants: Best Friends Forever! is a photodocumentary book by Cathleen Burnham, the third book in her WAKA (World Association of Kids and Animals) series of books featuring kids involved in wild animal rescue and preservation efforts around the globe.

Tony and His Elephants introduces Tony, an eight-year-old boy, whose family runs a small elephant sanctuary in northern Thailand. He becomes involved in the care of two young elephants, Baby Pumpuii and Nam Cho, rescued from an urban setting to a new life in the forests.

But life in the wilds is not without its own drama and danger. Tony is quickly drawn into a deep and lasting relationship with these amazing and sensitive animals.

He learns to feed and train the young elephants to follow simple commands. Then, when a fire breaks out in the nearby jungle, he helps to lead the animals to safety.

Like the first two books in this series (Doyli to the Rescue: Saving Baby Monkeys in the Amazon and Tortuga Squad: Kids Saving Sea Turtles in Costa Rica), the text and photos shows a youngster deeply involved in caring for the well-being of young animals in need of shelter, food, and lots of love.

The conservation message is skillfully blended into the glimpse of everyday life of active kids and their families involved in small-scale, grassroots animal-rescue efforts.