An Elephant for the Emperor

Author: Saviour Pirotta

Interest age: from c 9 years

Published on 10 September 2026 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (Bloomsbury Education) in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 192 pages
197 x 129 x 16 | 140g

A thrilling quest by bestselling author Saviour Pirotta, set during the golden age of Islam. Two very different boys set out on an adventure they'll never forget...

The year is 798CE. In Damascus, spoilt wealthy fourteen-year-old Farouk loses a valuable falcon of his father’s, and he is sent on the caravan travelling to see the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne in Aachen Germany, to teach him more responsibility. Meanwhile, after being mistreated at the Baghdad hospital he works at as a cleaner, bright thirteen-year-old orphan Hudayn is going too – it's the adventure of a lifetime. They are joined by an unruly elephant, Abul Abbas.

With sea storms and bandits at every turn, can Farouk and Hudayn put their differences aside to protect Abul Abbas and make it safely to the emperor's court?