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The Elephant Letters: The Story of Billy and Kani

by G.A. Bradshaw; foreword by Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick

Free audiobook now available!

Dear Readers and Listeners,

Welcome! We are delighted to share with you a free audiobook companion to The Elephant Letters: The Story of Billy and Kani (scroll down). This book was written to bring the lives of Elephants into the homes of people around the world. The story revolves around Billy and Kani, two African Elephants. While they were born on the same day, the two young cousins live very different lives. Kani roams the Kenyan savanna with wild Elephant herds, struggling to survive the onslaught of poachers and loss of homeland. Billy was sent to live a lonely life in a zoo after being orphaned and taken from Africa. Despite physical separation, the cousins continue to write letters to each other. Although Billy and Kani live between the pages of the book, their story and experiences reflect what science tells us about Elephants and about us all: we are all kin under skin, fin , feather, and fur. Enjoy your free gift. We welcome any donation to support Animals at our Sanctuary.

Trumpets to you!

Gay Bradshaw

The Audio Book

Narrated by Jeff Borchers

In addition to the richly-illustrated print version of The Elephant letters, we have created a free companion audiobook with a study guide to further explore Elephants and what they can teach us. We suggest that you first listen to and/or read the book to fully delve into the lives of these magnificent beings. If you wish, you can then then work through the material in Study Questions and Activities for The Elephant Letters. This guide contains chapter-by-chapter study questions and activities adaptable for most age groups.

We invite you to begin your listening adventure by viewing the Youtube version of chapter I, which has been rendered with illustrations from the print version of the book.


Foreword (by Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick)


Chapter I. The Brown Parcel (also reproduced with illustrations on Youtube)


Chapter II. Now We Are Seven


Chapter III. Danger in the Air


Chapter IV. Remembering


Chapter V. Peace on the Plain


Chapter VI. Monkey Business


Chapter VII. A Sad Day


Chapter VIII. Saying Good-bye


Chapter IX. Song of the Savanna


Chapter X. Graduation


Chapter XI. The Ancient Path


Chapter XII. A Time of Change


Chapter XIII. Humans Are Confusing


Chapter XIV. Letter from America


Chapter XV. Going Home


Copyright © 2020 by Gay Bradshaw. All rights reserved. This audio book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for (1) non-commercial educational purposes, or (2) the use of brief quotations in a book review.