Travels with Tarra Book

I'm generally not in favor of the use of animal acts in circuses (well really, I'm not in favor of it at all), but having fallen in love with Tarra the elephant, in Carol Buckley's recent Tarra & Bella - which details the friendship of retired pachyderm performer Tarra, and a stray dog named Bella - I was curious to learn more about the younger days of this massive charmer. When I saw that Buckley has published an earlier book about Tarra's days as an entertainer, and that said book was a Tilbury House title (one of my current obsessions), I had to read it!

I'm not sorry I did. Travels With Tarra details how Buckley got involved in caring for Tarra, when she was a very young elephant, recently purchased by a tire dealer as part of a promotional campaign. Eventually buying Tarra outright, Buckley trained her as an entertainer, teaching her how to do numerous tricks (like roller-skating), and traveling all over the world with her. For those with an interest in the movies, Tarra was the elephant used in the parade scene, at the end of Annie .

It's clear that Buckley loved (and loves) Tarra, took excellent care of her (both physically and spiritually), and provided for her retirement, by founding the The Elephant Sanctuary for her, in Tennessee. I think young elephant lovers will enjoy this tale, profusely illustrated with photographs of Tarra and Buckley in their years together. Parents or other adults who, like me, have reservations about using animals in circuses, can explain their position, but also highlight the importance of Tarra's humane treatment (and the fact that Asian elephants have been a "workforce" for many, many centuries), and her happy retirement.