BOOKS TO BORROW

"Tarra & Bella: The Elephant and Dog Who Became Best Friends" written and photographed by Carol Buckley, Putnam, 32 pages

Read aloud: age 4 and older

Read yourself: 8 and older

The power of friendship can be enjoyed in many ways. In the case of two unlikely animals, friendship takes on an even deeper meaning. Such is the circumstance with Tarra, a retired entertainment elephant, and a stray dog, Bella, who find one another at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.

From the moment the two animals meet, they are inseparable. Tarra and Bella eat together, play together and sleep next to one another. One day, Bella is injured. When rescue workers find Bella in a ditch close to where Tarra is standing, Tarra stays in the same spot for two days. Tarra eventually makes her way to the barn where Bella is recovering, although she didn't see Bella being taken there; they had called to each other, and their friendship and love for one another aid in Bella's recovery.

LIBRARIAN'S CHOICE

Library: The Stonington Free Library, 20 High St., Stonington

Library Director: Margaret Victoria

Children's/Teen Librarian: Maris Frey

Choices this week: "The Lion and the Mouse" by Jerry Pinkney; "The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks" by E. Lockhart; "The Underneath" by Kathi Appelt

AT THE BOOKSTORE

"The Eagles Are Back" by Jean Craighead George, illustrated by Wendell Minor, Dial, 2013, 32 pages, $16.99 hardcover

Read aloud: age 6 to 8

Read yourself: age 7 and 8

When a boy learns a pair of bald eagles he used to feed are missing, he becomes worried-especially when he climbs their nest and discovers two smashed eggs.

The boy's friend, the ranger, says bald eagles are on the verge of extinction because of the pesticide DDT, which Congress recently banned.

Then the ranger shows the boy a bald eagle egg that had come all the way from Alaska with the hope that the boy's eagles would adopt the egg. He asks for the boy's help, and the boy's assistance helps to restore the American bald eagle.

"Orangutan" written and photographed by Suzi Eszterhas, Francis Lincoln, 2013, 30 pages, $15.99 hardcover

Read aloud: age 3 to 7

Read yourself: age 7 and 8

A baby orangutan must learn many important lessons in the six years she lives with her mother in the rainforest of Sumatra. This exciting book, with its remarkable photographs shot on location, shows readers what her young life is like.

www.greatestbooksforkids.com