Catherine’s book Dublin Zoo Elephants is included in the Irish Independents roundup of best books for Christmas, 2013
A nature lesson that will appeal to all young readers is the beautiful new book for children titled Dublin Zoo Elephants by Catherine de Courcy with illustrations by Cathy Callan. And parents may learn a thing or two.
Did you know, for example, that the gestation period for elephants is two years?
This is on the minds of the keepers in Dublin Zoo right now because they believe that all four female elephants in the herd of five (yes, there is one very lucky male) are pregnant. So all going well, there will be an elephant baby boom in the Zoo in a couple of years.
Lots of books for children fall into the Dumbo fantasy genre but this one explains how elephants really are and how they live happily in the Zoo. The book is now on sale at the Zoo and online at www.dublinzoo.ie, at €7.95. All proceeds go towards the care of the animals.