Elfa and the Box of Memories

by Michelle Bell

We all have memories of happy times and sad times, and all our memories help us to remember the story of our lives. But what happens when you don't have anybody to share your memories with? In this bright, colourful book, Elfa the elephant revisits some of the important moments of her life.

Genres: Adoption

24 pages, Paperback

First published June 23, 2008

Reviews

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

ORPARC Library | Nice to have a book that subtly includes fostering, but some concerns about how alone the main character is | As a CASA, I asked for a different specific book from the Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center, to use with a very young child who has lost multiple family members. They offered additional books and activity packets, and I said I would take whatever they thought best. This was one of them, and I'm reading them all first, before I take any on a visit with the child. This included an activity handout, a little booklet "my book of memories" with prompts to ask a child and fill in their answers, and with illustrations that match the book. This was good, and accurate to the experience of a child who has been in care, and it was created by a British Adoption and Fostering agency, so it's specific to the audience. My only objection, really, is that Elfa is written very much as still being a child. She plays like a child, reacts like a child, communicates like a child. Great, she's the child reader's eyes. But why doesn't she have any grown-ups caring for her? She's lonely and burdened by her memories, by not having anyone to share them with, by being afraid to put them down for a moment and risk losing them. But the wise monkey who steps up to help seems more like a friend than an adult. Elfa visits former foster parents and expresses still not understanding why they couldn't keep her, but she doesn't appear to have anyone currently taking care of her. I hate to reinforce that loneliness and isolation, so I'm a little iffy with this one, though an argument could be made for CASA as the monkey in it.