Natumi Takes the Lead

Information book, 32 pages. In 1999 nearly a dozen orphan elephants appeared at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Africa. This is the story of one of these baby elephants, Natumi, who became the adopted herd's matriarch. Published in 2016 by National Geographic Kids.

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Book Recap

The David Sheldrick National Wildlife Refuge in Kenya is a rescue and rehabilitation center for elephants. A prolonged drought, an increase in poaching, as well as other human-elephant conflicts in the late 1990s resulted in a higher than normal number of elephant orphans. Natumi, rescued along with seven other orphans in 1999, was so shy none of the keepers predicted she would lead the little herd. This is the story of how Natumi became the matriarch!

Ellis' photographs catch so many different elephant expressions and emotions!

Learning Suggestions

Family Read Aloud Time
Natumi is an excellent book for Morning Basket time or in the evening when a family reads together.

Learning at Home
National Geographic Kids is an excellent resource - especially for learning about African elephants. Tie in a geography lesson or a lesson about the banned ivory trade.

Classroom Options
If you teach about animal behavior, then Natumi is a strong classroom read aloud to begin engaging students in the topic. You can find excellent resources about the difference between learned and instinctive animal behavior at BritannicaKids.

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Gary Ellis

Ellis is a wildlife photographer and the author of more than a dozen children's books. He founded GLOBIO, the Foundation for Global Biodiversity Education for Children, to inspire young people to protect the earth.

Amy Novesky

Novesky is a book editor and author of numerous picture books for children including Girl on a Motorcycle, about Anne France Dautheville who was the first woman to travel around the world on her motorcycle.

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