Linda K McLean Category:  Children Publisher: By the Creek Publications ISBN-10:  0997481005 Type: Non-Fiction Pages: 38 Copyright: July 1, 2016 ISBN-13: 9780997481006 The true story of the Detroit Zoo's last two elephants, Wanda and Winky, who were given their freedom and lived out their days at the PAWS Sanctuary in California.    T his poetic work tells the story of Wanda and Winky, two Asian elephants who were captured and taken from their families as babies and sold by animal dealers to a zoo and to a circus. They left the Detroit Zoo in 2005 and were sent to live out their days at the ARK 2000 Elephant Sanctuary in San Andreas, CA. In the year 2005, when I heard that Wanda and Winky would be leaving the Detroit Zoo to live out their lives in freedom, I knew I would write their story one day. I celebrated their release. I felt in my heart, “Good for you girls. Now go have a nice life!” As I proceeded with the research of Wanda and Winky’s background, I became aware of startling information about the life that elephants live while in captivity. In the back of this book, I have listed many resources that will provide you with facts that are important for you to know. It can be heartbreaking if you have a love of animals. This story, however, is meant to be uplifting and positive. And so I bid you, happy reading of a tale of two elephants who made it home.        Excerpt In the elephant house at the Detroit Zoo, Lived Wanda and Winky who were friends through and through. They were beautiful animals, friendly and fun. Gentle gray beasts that weighed nearly three ton.

Children's Book Recalls Zoo's Last Elephants
Children's book recalls Zoo's last elephants
By Bill Laitner
Detroit Free Press


The Detroit Zoo's last two elephants -Wanda and Winky
- made headlines in 2005 when their retirement to a sanctuary in California sparked an international con­versation about how elephants fare and sometimes suffer in captivity.
Winky was euthanized in 2008 at age 56 because of ar­thritis complications, and Wanda met the same fate in 2015 at 57, both dying presum­ably very happy to have left Michigan winter behind .
Now the two have been im­mortalized in a new children's book being launched from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. today at Jen's Gifts of Love, 4280 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield .
Retired Walled Lake Schools teacher and library media specialist Linda McLean, who lives in Com­merce Township, will be there with illustrator Susan VanDe­venter Warner of Walled Lake to sign their books priced at
$12 each and aimed at ages 5- 12.
I The 38-page book has a blend of poetry and prose, McLean said. For younger
I fans, the book has "elephant talk, every other page," McLean said. Older ones will latch onto the "elephant facts" section at the back of the book, "if they're doing a term paper," the author said.
This is McLean's second book for children. Her first, in 2007, was titled "The Heidel­berg Project: A Street of Dreams," and introduced
young readers to the quirky outdoor art installations and the artist who created them on Detroit's near east side. She self-published both books, McLean said.
"Wanda and Winky" is ded­icated to Detroit Zoo Director Ron Kagan, who was both cheered and criticized when he declared that Detroit must give up its elephants because its winter cold created inhu­mane conditions and they should not be housed on con­crete pads in confined areas. Kagan arranged for the two aging elephants to be shipped to PAWS - the Performing Animal Welfare Society, in San Andreas, Calif .
It was at PAWS where the duo suddenly found them­selves traipsing across dozens of acres of natural terrain. under California sunshine, then sleeping in large living quar­ters equipped with heated stalls and therapeutic Jacuz­zis. When the duo was shipped west, the Free Press sent along a reporter and photographer, and their report on the ani­mals' dramatic lifestyle shift generated the headline
"Pachyderm Paradise: Girls · Doing Great."
McLean said she had delivered a copy of the book to Kagan's office but she was unaware if he had seen it. She planned to donate a portion of '
the book's proceeds to the De­troit Zoo. In addition, the au­thor said she'd give $1 from the sale of each book to PAWS.And she will donate another portion to S.O.U.L., an Oakland County charity that helps needy individuals.
With so many donations planned, she'll be left with "a pittance" from writing "Winky and Wanda,"McLean said with a laugh, but also with "the joy of doing it," she said.

Contact Bill Laitner: 313-223-4485 or blaitner@freepress.com .







USA Review
Through poetic form and original watercolor illustrations, the true story of Wanda and Winky comes to life in this delightful book. Wanda and Winky, the Detroit Zoo's last two elephants, were sent to live out their lives in freedom at the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) Sanctuary in San Andreas, CA in 2005.
The book incorporates the factual back story of the two elephants, from their capture as babies to the end of their days in freedom. Elephant facts and research resources add to the layering of information about the plight of all elephants today.

Parent/Grandparent
A true crusader at heart, Linda! Kudos to you and a call to awareness! On your waiting list! Patti Schlagheck, 1st Grade Teacher. INCREDIBLE! How exciting and wonderful and such an important, inspiring story to tell. Love that you followed your passion on this one Patti Graham, Author, Middle School Teacher The perfect present for two girls who love our Zoo - Roberta Hoffman, Parent