I first read this book in the 1970s, shortly after it came out and I was never the same again. The author, Pat Derby, was a wild animal trainer who learned as she went, did a lot of work for television and movies and fiercely loved her animals (she currently runs an organization called PAWS to help care for performing animals that have been abused). She was the trainer behind many famous animals such as the Mercury cougar, the Exxon tigers and Gentle Ben, the bear of Disney fame. This book opens your eyes to the incredible cruelty that goes on in circuses and rodeos and will make you cry and want to do something to help. Pat tells you of her adventures of taking her wolves for a walk, having her nose broken by a grizzly gear, being grabbed around the waist in a lion's mouth, chasing run-away lions and rescuing a leopard from a man's apartment. You come away from this book learning that wild animals should be just that-wild. They are not pets and deserve freedom. You learn that even a walrus and an anteater can be lovable! You realize that ALL animals deserve a life of their own and NO animal should be mistreated. I loaned this book out years ago and never got it back so I managed to find another copy and I'll never loan it out again. This book will make you cry, make you think and make you thank god for people like Pat Derby who risk their lives and spend all of their money and time rescuing and caring for animals.

This book explains how life can be complicated in some ways. Grams, Her Boyfriend, My Family, and Me gives a picture in kids minds of how life is about. It shows that you will have to take some responsibilities as you get older. It also says that there are some decisions that will be difficult to make. Some that you don't want to make but you have to. Some of the decisions are very big and some of them are not. You may regret some but that is the way it goes. This book goes through some decisions both big and small that some people will have to make in their lives. This book also has some difficulties that go on that could happen to people.

This is a book full of pictures of elephants, NOT a Peter S. Beagle book. He wrote a few paragraphs of an introduction, nothing else. In terms of the rest of the book, it is bland and hypocritical; the authors bemoan the fact of captive elephants, while keeping captive elephants. The pictures are poor quality as well.

In defense of this book, I am compelled to support the spirit of its purpose. Yes it is published by people with captive elephants, but the elephants in this book are now as free as they can be, at the home of PAWS, (Performing Animal Welfare Society) where "abandoned or abused performing animals and victims of the exotic animal trade can live in peace and contentment." They may be visited in person at their Galt, California sanctuary. Kudos to an organization that does not glorify the human entertainment of training wild animals to perform unnatural acts.

This is a sweet little book with wonderful photos of these elephants "71" and Mara growing up and finding contentment at PAWS in galt CA. The photos are so touching. It's more of a picture book...a documentary told in beautiful black and white photos...I loved it! the photos alone are worth the price!