Clever, sensitive Jama likes elephants better than people. While her classmates gossip--especially about the new boy, Leku--twelve-year-old Jama takes refuge at the watering hole outside her village. There she befriends a baby elephant she names Mbegu, Swahili for seed.When Mbegu's mother, frightened by poachers, stampedes, Jama and Mbegu are blamed for two deaths--one elephant and one human. Now Leku, whose mysterious and imposing father is head ranger at the conservancy, may be their only lifeline.Inspired by true events, The Elephant Girl is a moving exploration of the bonds between creatures and the power of belonging.