Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen tells of a tragic love story during the Great Depression of the 1930's and describes the life of performers in a travelling circus, their struggles and the cruelty of circus life.

This non-commissioned cover illustration uses typical tent colours of the time and includes elements of circus life and contents of the book; the elephant is a key character of the story and the circus train also plays an important part. The chains reflect the often cruel treatment of circus animals in the 1930's and, metaphorically, the people tied to the circus master.

The design was created using collage techniques, digital illustration and Photoshop.