The Invisible Elephant - by Anna Anisimova (Hardcover)

About the Book

"For the young, blind heroine of The Invisible Elephant, the world is a thrilling place full of sounds, smells, and sensations. Although she doesn't see the world outside with her eyes, nothing stops her from encountering her surroundings with joy and an impressively creative imagination. In four charming stories, we go with her to the zoo, the museum, and art class, and get a peek into her wonderfully magical mind where her grandfather's walking stick can transform into a horse and a sled can become a whale. When the time comes for her to learn braille, we watch how her family and friends cheer her on as she discovers how to navigate the world in her own way."--

Book Synopsis

A 2024 USBBY Outstanding International Book

From beloved Finland-based children's author Anna Anisimova comes a heartwarming, beautifully illustrated chapter book about a blind girl who joyfully explores her environment using her senses and vivid imagination, inviting young readers to understand their surroundings in entirely new ways.

For the young, blind heroine of The Invisible Elephant, the world is a thrilling place full of sounds, smells, and sensations. Although she doesn't see the world outside with her eyes, nothing stops her from encountering her surroundings with joy and an impressively creative imagination. In four charming stories, we go with her to the zoo, the museum, and art class, and get a peek into her wonderfully magical mind where her grandfather's walking stick can transform into a horse and a sled can become a whale. When the time comes for her to learn braille, we watch how her family and friends cheer her on as she discovers how to navigate the world in her own way.

With gorgeous, inventive illustrations by Yulia Sidneva and artfully translated by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp, The Invisible Elephant is a truly special book that helps kids to value all the different ways of seeing the world.

Review Quotes

"Tirelessly cheerful... In Kemp's applause-worthy translation, verbs empower, descriptions tickle and exclamation marks abound. Everything is exciting and full of wonder." --Aditi Sriram, The New York Times

"Written in a simple language full of wordplay and humour, it speaks to all ages, while inventive illustrations by Yulia Sidneva perfectly capture the fragile balance between the real world and the invisible."
--Ekaterina Shatalova, World Kids Lit

About the Author

Anna Anisimova is a journalist, editor, and children's book writer. Born and raised in the north of the Irkutsk region, in the village of Kropotkin, Siberia, Anisimova graduated with a degree in journalism from Novosibirsk State University. Anismova has written more than 10 books and been nominated for several literary awards including the Samuil Marshak Literary Prize, New Children Book, Children Literary Award named after Vladislav Krapivin and others.

Yulia Sidneva is an artist and illustrator, and a member of Moscow Union of Artists. She graduated from the Moscow State University of Printing. In addition to illustrating children's books Sidneva also designs various printed products, gives master classes in book graphics, and works as a designer at Samokat Publishing House.

Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp is a literary translator working from Arabic, German and Russian into English. She translates fiction and nonfiction, and has a particular interest in history, historical fiction, and writing for children and young adults. Her translations include books from Germany, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Russia, Switzerland and Syria. Ruth is a passionate advocate of world literature for young people and diversity in children's publishing. She is co-editor of ArabKidLitNow! and Russian Kid Lit blogs, and writes about global reading for young people at World Kid Lit, Words Without Borders, and World Literature Today.