An Elephant in the Garden
By Michael Morpurgo
- Release Date: 2011-10-25
- Genre: Historical Fiction for Young Adults
Description
Lizzie and Karl's mother is a zoo keeper; the family has become attached to an orphaned elephant named Marlene, who will be destroyed as a precautionary measure so she and the other animals don't run wild should the zoo be hit by bombs. The family persuades the zoo director to let Marlene stay in their garden instead. When the city is bombed, the family flees with thousands of others, but how can they walk the same route when they have an elephant in tow, and keep themselves safe? Along the way, they meet Peter, a Canadian navigator who risks his own capture to save the family.
As Michael Morpurgo writes in an author's note, An Elephant in the Garden is inspired by historical truths, and by his admiration for elephants, "the noblest and wisest and most sensitive of all creatures." Here is a story that brings together an unlikely group of survivors whose faith in kindness and love proves the best weapon of all.
Reviews
Elephant in the garden
5By DIANA MOMMAThis book was perfect for my daughter. She loves to learn about history but never liked reading traditional history books, so I picked this title because it appeared to include some important references to past events while incorporating actual things that happen to a young girls like her. She gave this book a FIVE STAR rating, after I asked her if she would like to read more books by the same author.Amazing
5By Completely amazedLoved this book. It shows what it is really like during the war. Can't stop reading it over and over again. An event happens and you can't wait to find out what happens next. This book can go really well with a study about WWII in school.good
5By tysipadminiim reading the real book but this is a really really good bookAwesome
5By LimesideI think the elephant in the garden was a fantastic book to how it was put together by you getting told the story and the whole book was about a child and how she grew up and all of her family! Once I finished the book I realized that I never even wanted it to end I think it was the best book I have ever read.
