My Travels with Clara
Mary Tavener HolmesA life-size portrait of the famous rhinoceros named Clara was the massive centerpiece of the Getty Museum’s 2007 exhibition Oudry’s Painted Menagerie. In her honor, the Getty published My Travels with Clara, a picture book for children that tells the true story of this five-thousand-pound animal and her owner, an eighteenth-century Dutch sea captain.
My Travels with Clara begins in India, where Clara was born, and follows this amazing animal and her owner through their exploits in Berlin (where she met Frederick the Great), Paris (where she was a sensation and inspired rhinoceros hairdos), Versailles (where she met Louis XV and had her portrait painted), Rome (where she lost her horn), and finally Venice (where Clara joined in the annual Carnival).
Interest Level: Ages 8+ | Lexile® measure: AD710L | Genre: Picture Book
Themes: Animals, travel, 18th-century Europe