Elephant Man by Mariangela Di Fiore

Elephant Man by Mariangela Di Fiore. Illustrated by Hilde Hodnefjeld
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

53 pages
Published August 18th 2015 by Annick Press Ltd.
first published in Norwegian 2013


Beautiful heart-wrenching story of John Merrick's life from birth to his legacy after death. The book doesn't dwell on his abuse but certainly tells the sorry tale of his young life and presents the ultimate story of being bullied for today's reader. Merrick is shown for the strong person he was inside, overcoming obstacles and hardships until the great change when he came to live in the hospital with his doctor friend. Then we see the tender, sophisticated man who wrote poetry, read books and discussed the arts with his visitors including a Princess. The writing is wonderful and compassionate concentrating on Merrick's character and the illustration captures his deformities while giving him dignity. A had a lump in my throat reading this and found it extremely well-done.