From Publishers Weekly

Meet Harlan Kooter--a kind, plucky lad with "the reddest hair anyone had ever seen" who is mercilessly teased by his classmates for being poor and small. When the circus comes to town, Harlan discovers a runaway animal in his garage: "a medium-sized elephant, which is to say it was about the size of a delivery van." Hannibal, a perceptive pachyderm with the gift of gab, turns out to be just the kind of chum Harlan needs; the two form a risky and protective partnership. In his deftly written first novel, Harvey seamlessly blends passages of chuckle-producing humor with gently affecting moments--the whole overlaid with an ingenuous, old-fashioned charm. Harlan and Hannibal are an endearing pair whose happy ending is cause for cheering. Ages 7-10.