Joshua Liddell 
My Pet Elephant & Best Friend, Taru 

Geared towards children ages 6-12, the Taru Books series, of which this is the first one, intends to teach children how to deal with life situations without resorting to violence. From the life experiences of a little boy and his stuffed pet elephant, Taru, children will learn that prayer and having faith in God are two of life’s best intervention tools.

In a lighthearted way, the author introduces the characters of Joshua and Taru. He plans to share many more life circumstances that the characters experience during childhood and the pre-teen years throughout the series.

Joshua Lamar Liddell is an eight-year-old African American author from Jackson, Mississippi. He is the only son of a single mother who describes Joshua as a ‘very good son… the apple of my eye.’ Joshua’s mother read to him every day while he was inside her womb. When he was born, his mother recalls that he would behave very calmly as he listened to her read books by Dr. Seuss and the Holy Bible. Today, Joshua reads these books himself.

Joshua enjoys attending school at Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School and attending City Church, both in Jackson, Mississippi. He also enjoys traveling with his mother, a physician, and playing basketball and video games. He likes hanging out with his friends, too.

When Joshua wrote this book, his aspirations were to one day become a lawyer, a basketball player, and the first African American Governor of the State of Mississippi. Today, he aspires to serve our country as a commissioned military officer and to make a difference in the community through the sport of boxing.