Seeing the Elephant — Pat Hughes

Young Izzie wishes he could join the Union Army with his brothers, Ario and Cal. He wonders what it would be like to "see the elephant"--soldier talk for going into battle for the first time. But it seems the closest Izzie will ever get to battle is visiting wounded soldiers at a Washington, D.C., hospital, where his aunt works as an Army nurse. When Izzie meets a wounded Rebel soldier who will soon be sent to prison, he realizes that the war may not be as simple as he once believed, and "seeing the elephant" takes on a whole new meaning.
Based on family history, Pat Hughes's beautifully crafted story is complemented by Ken Stark's exceptional watercolor paintings. "Seeing the Elephant" is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.