When the Elephants Dance — Tess Uriza Holthe

In the waning days of World War II, as the Japanese and U.S. forces ba to possess the Philippine Islands, the Karangalan family hides with t neighbors in a cramped cellar, where they glean hope from the family stories and folktales they tell each other. These stories of love, survival, : family blend the supernatural with the rich, little known history of Philippines, the centuries of Spanish colonization, the power of Catholic church, and the colorful worlds of the Spanish, Mestizo, Filipino cultures.

As the villagers tell their stories in the darkened cellar below, Holthe masterfully weaves in the stories of three brave Filipinos--a teenage brother and sister and a guerilla fighter--as they become caught in battle against the vicious Japanese forces above ground.

Inspired by her father's firsthand accounts of this period, Tess Or Holthe brings to magical and terrifying life a story of the hope and courage needed to survive in wartime.