Viku and the Ivory Thieves

Viku and the Ivory Thieves is the third installment in the Viku adventure series begun with Viku and the Elephant and continued in Viku to the Rescue. Viku lives at the edge of a forest in India. He becomes friends with an elephant by saving him from a snake. The elephant makes only two sounds, a happy trumpet and a sad cry, but the two friends understand each other very well. Stories of their adventures together unfold quickly. At the end of Viku and the Elephant, Viku and Haatee escaped ivory poachers, and left them on a tiny island surrounded by crocodiles. In this continuation of that story they realize the forest is not safe as long as poachers and ivory thieves are free. Viku and Haatee help the police round up and capture clever ivory thieves. These Viku stories of friendship and adventure tell us about life in another culture.

This book works well as a read-aloud story for young children, is suitable for early readers (2nd and 3rd grades), and is an excellent chapter book for 4th and 5th graders.