Herd

Stephen Hogtun

Bloomsbury, 2024

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781526610737

As Little Elephant wanders through the long grass of the savannah, treading in the footsteps of the rest of the herd, he begins to wonder why they are always on the move.  Why isn’t there one place that feels like home where they can stay and be settled?  It’s not in the shade of the trees – he’s too little to reach their fruit, although his mother leans against the tree so it bends for him to reach .  It’s not near the waterhole because he’s too little to play in the deep water, although his sister shows him where it is shallow enough for him. It’s not the open plains – they feel too big and empty especially at night, although his grandmother promises to protect him.  It seems that wherever he is, it just doesn’t feel right, so as dusk falls and the herd sleeps, he wanders off to find the right place for him…

Set against stunning artwork that captures both the landscape and the changing day as the elephants travel through it, this is a warm-hearted story about what it means to discover the true meaning of the saying “home is where the heart is”, and understand that it is the little things that those who care for us do for us that change a house from a home, wherever that may be and what it might look like.  

Apart from being a charming story in itself, it also offers an opportunity to talk about the things that others do for us, or we do for them, that shows we belong, we fit in and we care about each other.  It’s not about fancy houses and expensive gifts – there is more to family than those.  

An ideal addition to the mindfulness program to help little ones understand the things that really matter.