"There has been a lot of talk about bullying, school fatigue, school boredom, children's depression and the fact that very successful PISA results do not always mean that children are happy and happy," Kadri Hinrikus said, that noting that in the context of these problems, she started to come up with the character of protagonist Kärt. "She has problems both at home and at school," Hinrikus said.

Hinrikus said that "Elephant" talks about finding oneself, remaining oneself, loneliness, not understanding each other, but also moving towards each other and making friends. "It may seem like a very difficult and sad book, but it really isn't, I've tried to solve difficult topics more playfully or with some humor."

"I've written books on contemporary topics before, realistic stories where children solve worries and problems not by enchantment and sorcery, but by their ingenuity and perseverance," she said, confirming that "Elephant" falls into the same category. "These are the children of today and the problems of today."

"The main character Kärt and her classmates are probably in the fourth or fifth grade, I just went to see children recently and suddenly another child in the second class was holding "Elephant" at the meeting and said it was his favorite book," Hinrikus said.

"I don't have a complete picture of what exactly appears to us and what and how much, but I don't think there are too many problems in our children's literature today," she said, noting that while many children enjoy fantasy stories, she has heard that there is some lack of realistic topics in children's literature. "School worries, children growing up with a single parent or grandparent, I don't think these issues have been addressed too much."

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