The following 9 elephant novels cover the gamut, from angry marauding elephants to the work of conservationists, circus and menagerie mahouts and there are even a few elephants at the center of a mystery. We’ve split this list evenly between fiction and non-fiction. And I’m joyfully marrying those two interests together with this list of books on elephants.

I’m also a long-term volunteer and donor to wildlife conservation causes. I’m a recovering bookseller, who still loves nothing more than recommending cool books to people. You can trust me to recommend these books for you. Pull up your Goodreads because we’ve got 18 truly amazing books about elephants for you to add to your TBR list. And if that’s you, then we have a perfect reading list for you. But people who love elephants, really love elephants. Perhaps it’s their fierce loyalty, their female-forward power structure, long memories or sheer strength. (Oct.Despite our differences in size and shape, humans relate so profoundly to elephants. Foreign rights sold in the U.K., Germany, France, Holland, Finland, Japan and Italy dramatic rights: Richard Curtis. Still, sentimentalists and animal lovers should flock to this story. Helfer's telling, packed with reconstructed dialogue, seems fanciful at times, and he is vague about dates. In time, Bram found his way to Modoc for a joyful reunion. The elephant responded to treatment and surprised her new owners by performing circus tricks. They found one on a farm in the Ozarks, a filthy, emaciated animal covered with cuts and bruises. Nearly 20 years later, partners in a company that supplied trained animals for TV needed an elephant on the cheap.

Eventually she was sold behind Bram's back, however, and vanished.

Then the circus owner reappeared to claim Modoc and to take Bram on as the animal's trainer. The pair made their way through rural India, working in the teak forests. Modoc and Bram were among the few survivors. When the circus was sold, the boy stowed away on its ship, which sank during a storm in the Bay of Bengal. Bram's father was an animal trainer for a small German circus. Born on the same day in 1896, Modoc the elephant and Bram Gunterstein became inseparable companions. A unique relationship between an elephant and man is related in this captivating tale from Hollywood animal trainer Helfer (The Beauty of the Beasts).

Modoc elephant book