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An Elephant in the Garden

4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 · rating details · 893 ratings · 191 reviews

With Lizzie’s father fighting in World War II, her mother takes on the job of a zoo keeper to provide for her family. Lizzie, her mother, and her eight-year-old brother Karli have become especially attached to an orphaned elephant named Marlene. The bombing of Dresden is imminent and soon, so the zoo director explains that as a precautionary measure all the animals must be...more

Hardcover, 208 pages

Published October 25th 2011 by Feiwel & Friends (first published May 1st 2010)

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Mar 13, 2012 Carrie Dye rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-and-young-adult-books

According to Michael Morpurgo (War Horse), “An Elephant in the Garden,” was inspired by a true story of an elephant rescued from the Belfast Zoo during WWII. The story begins in a nursing home in Canada with Lizzie, an aging woman who feels compelled to tell her life story to a 9 year old boy, the son of one of the nurses. Lizzie describes her life in Dresden, Germany during WWII. Lizzie and her younger brother are generally content until their father is sent to fight on the Russian front. The w...more

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May 02, 2013 Priscilla rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is about an elderly lady, Lizzie who is in a nursing home and talks to the nurse about her past of having an elephant in her garden. However, the nurse does not believe this lady and thinks she is losing her mind. The nurse who looks after her has a nine year old son and sometimes come to the nursing home because his mum has no one to look after him. He starts to talk to Lizzie and listens to her story about having an elephant in the garden; he believed that what she said was true. His...more This book is about an elderly lady, Lizzie who is in a nursing home and talks to the nurse about her past of having an elephant in her garden. However, the nurse does not believe this lady and thinks she is losing her mind. The nurse who looks after her has a nine year old son and sometimes come to the nursing home because his mum has no one to look after him. He starts to talk to Lizzie and listens to her story about having an elephant in the garden; he believed that what she said was true. His mum hears Lizzie talking about this story to her son and takes her son out of Lizzie’s room and tells him this lady does not know what she is taking about. However, the boy wants to hear the rest of the story and decides to back another time to hear the rest of the story. This time round the mum becomes intrigued with Lizzie’s story and listens with her son. Lizzie went on to mention that her dad was sent to France and that was the beginning of her nightmare. Lizzie’s mum worked at a zoo with elephants to bring some income. The dad was coming back home less and less and changed by not taking much and became thin from the war which was getting worse. Then an announcement that the war was coming to their home town and everyone had to move on to the next village. Lizzie’s mum did not want to leave without taking the elephant with them. So one day she brought the elephant home and kept it in their back garden. In the evening, they set off to another village with the elephant and kept walking until daylight. In the mornings they rested to keep a low profile from potential bombers. Throughout their journey they encountered my tragedies but escaped close events of death. Towards the end of the book the elephant gets frightened by a loud noise and runs away into the distance never to be seen again, until years later when Lizzie, her brother and mum attends a circus and end up meeting the elephant again doing performances in a show. The elephant of course remembers them and gives them a warm greeting with its trunk.

This book would be good for Year 6 during literacy and history based on the topic ‘war’.
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Mar 30, 2013 Deborah Takahashi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: tween-historical-fiction

In this true tale, Lizzie revisits her past with an amazing tale of love and hope. On February 13, everything changed for her and her family. On February 13, four days after her sixteenth birthday, her hometown of Dresden, Germany, is leveled to the ground by Allie firepower. Not only is homeless, the life she knew was all over every since the war started. With her father gone, her mother had to take over his duties by getting a job at the local zoo. What Lizzie didn't anticipate is her mother's...more In this true tale, Lizzie revisits her past with an amazing tale of love and hope. On February 13, everything changed for her and her family. On February 13, four days after her sixteenth birthday, her hometown of Dresden, Germany, is leveled to the ground by Allie firepower. Not only is homeless, the life she knew was all over every since the war started. With her father gone, her mother had to take over his duties by getting a job at the local zoo. What Lizzie didn't anticipate is her mother's attachment to an orphaned elephant named Marlene. Although Lizzie sees this bond as silly, she is having a hard coping with the fact that her father is gone, her mother works too much, and an elephant has taken her place in her mother's eye. Thankfully, all of that changes when her mother brings Marlene home. Usually, one does not keep an elephant for a pet, but, in this case, extra exception have been made. With the impending invasion of Dresden, the zoo keeper was given a direct order to destroy most of the big of animals; if the zoo is bombed, all of the wild animals will escape and hurt others. Since Marlene has been raised by Lizzie's mother, with a lot of convincing, the director of the zoo gives her permission to care for Marlene. When Lizzie sees Marlene in her garden, she has no idea what's going on. Although Lizzie has been jealous of Marlene, all of that melts away the moment Lizzie looked in Marlene's big brown eye and it was love at first sight. In many ways, Marlene has the ability to see inside the hearts of those she meets, which is not only comforting, but allows the person to see inside hers. With the busyness of life, Lizzie admits she actually forgot about the war some days, but it wasn't for that horrible night when Dresden was finally bombed. With her family, and Marlene, in tow, they must find shelter or face an uncertain future in the German wilderness.

Michael Morpurgo is a master of storytelling. By incorporating three true stories, Morpurgo has created a story where one family and one elephant come together to survive the horror of war. Just like War Horse, the bonds between humans and animals takes center stage and its the relationships that inspire us to hop, to dream, and to love. I absolutely love elephants and I am so overjoyed to know that one little elephant was saved because her human companions loved her so much they did everything they could to keep her alive. Although we, humans, have this horrible ability to destroy everything we love based on ideology, it's the power of the human spirit that can make all the wrong right. For Marlene, she knew she was being protected from the forces that could destroy her. However, in efforts to show her gratitude, her affection for her family was more than the could ever expect. I think what makes elephants extraordinary is their empathy. Marlene could feel the hurt in Lizzie when it came to her father simply because she lost her own mother. The beauty of this magnificent creature is not just their way of expressing emotion but their temperament. Most elephants, unless provoked, are very social, calm, expressive, and collected; they tend to their young and they go about their days. In many ways, elephants are more trusting and caring than most humans so having Marlene beside their side gave Lizzie, and her family, the will to survive. An Elephant in the Garden is a wonderful story where friendship, love, forgiveness, sacrifice, and hope can make the darkest of days a little brighter.
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Mar 05, 2013 Heather Johnson rated it 5 of 5 stars

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Dec 21, 2012 Anne Hamilton rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pseudo-kid-books, children

Despite the intriguing title and the promise of a mystery revealed, this is a very slow book to start. I've read a lot of Morpurgo and none has the almost interminable creep of the first half of this book.

Morpurgo tries a variation on his usual framing device in this story and, rather than a tale of youth bookended by an adult narrator's musings, the reflections are interspersed throughout.

Lizzie is a solitary old woman in a nursing home who often speaks of the time she had an elephant in her g...more Despite the intriguing title and the promise of a mystery revealed, this is a very slow book to start. I've read a lot of Morpurgo and none has the almost interminable creep of the first half of this book.

Morpurgo tries a variation on his usual framing device in this story and, rather than a tale of youth bookended by an adult narrator's musings, the reflections are interspersed throughout.

Lizzie is a solitary old woman in a nursing home who often speaks of the time she had an elephant in her garden. The staff are convinced she is delusional. But one day, a small boy felicitously named Karl winds up in her room. Her younger brother was Karl too and, over sixty years previously, looked much like the little rascal she finds in her bedroom.

And so she tells him the story of Marlene the elephant. During the Second World War, her mother helped at the Dresden Zoo and became attached to a young elephant. Lizzie's mum is determined that, should the allied bombers come to Dresden as they have to other cities, Marlene will be safe. The director of the zoo has decided all animals will be shot in case they escapes and terrify the citizens after the raid. Each day she takes the elephant to the zoo and each night she brings it home to the garden. One bitter winter night, the elephant charges after an alsatian that harasses her and the whole family chase after it.

It is only because they are out near the country that they escape the firestorm that engulfs Dresden when the allied bombing raid begins. They lee on foot, heading for a relative's farm a dozen kilometres out of the city, cutting across country to avoid the refugees on the main road. When they finally reach the farm, it seems to be deserted. Then they find an allied airman, a Canadian navigator, who is hiding out... German soldiers are seeking him and it's unlikely he'll make it to a prisoner-of-war camp. Everyone's seeking vengeance after the firestorm...

As I said, the first half of the book drags. Too much telling. Way too much. Too much reporting. The story picks up immensely with the introduction of the Canadian. For the first time in the story, there's real tension, bubbling conflict and a much smarter pace.

An okay book, but certainly not up to Morpurgo's usual standard.(less)

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Dec 15, 2012 Julesmarie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, childrens

3.5 stars

After finding out that there's a Scholastic warehouse not far from the school i teach at, i decided to get my students books as holiday gifts. As preparation, I had them select their favorite genre. I had two students choose historical fiction: a boy and a girl. The warehouse had War Horse, so I picked that up. And then I noticed this one nearby and thought I'd read it first before deciding whether to gift it or not.

Having the present-day bracket for the WWII story struck me as both a g...more

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Nov 21, 2012 Beth Bonini rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-book-club

It is obvious that Michael Morpurgo has a passion for history, particularly that of those great and awful 20th century conflicts: the first and second world wars. Most of his stories have some kind of "frame" -- by that I mean that there is contemporary framing of the "historical" bit. In many cases, there is an elderly person who has some extraordinary tale to tell. In this book, an elderly woman in a nursing woman hints mysteriously of an "elephant in her garden" when she was a young girl. It...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Aynsley rated it 4 of 5 stars

One snowy day, when Karl goes with his mother to work at a nursing home, a resident named Lizzie recalls her past when she sees the similarity between Karl and her little brother, Karli. Lizzie tells them the story about her family’s journey during World War II in Germany.

When warnings about bombing spread throughout the city of Dresden, Lizzie’s life was changed forever. Until then, Lizzie had not been affected the war, but when her father is deployed to France and her mom, Mutti, brings home a...more One snowy day, when Karl goes with his mother to work at a nursing home, a resident named Lizzie recalls her past when she sees the similarity between Karl and her little brother, Karli. Lizzie tells them the story about her family’s journey during World War II in Germany.

When warnings about bombing spread throughout the city of Dresden, Lizzie’s life was changed forever. Until then, Lizzie had not been affected the war, but when her father is deployed to France and her mom, Mutti, brings home a baby elephant named Marlene from the zoo, the truth begins to sink in. The zoo was going to kill all of the animals in case they escaped due to a bombing, but Mutti believed that Marlene deserved as much of a chance of surviving as the rest of them. When the dreaded bombing arrived, the family escaped and embarked on a life-changing journey. Along the way, they meet an enemy airman named Peter, and they create a strong bond and become more like a family. Together, they face obstacles as they make their way across Germany to avoid the advancing Russian Army.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it really illustrated what life was like for a family in Germany during World War II. In U.S. history class, I just read about what life was like in the U.S. during World War II. This book gave me the missing piece of the story. The story tells how a family deals with their home being destroyed. They make a journey to escape the advancing Russian Army with a young elephant. They face many hardships along the way like no shelter, freezing cold, and a shortage of food. The family wants the war to be over because their father was sent to fight in the war. They weren’t the heartless Germans that history books describe.

I think the strong points in the story come when Lizzie is deep in thought. Several times in the story, Lizzie is conflicted about what mindset she should have about Peter, the Canadian airman. At first, Mutti doesn’t want anything to do with Peter, but she was the one who said that their enemies were just as bad as they were. This confuses Lizzie until she looks into Peter’s eyes and fully understands that they aren’t that different after all. Then, Lizzie falls in love and is conflicted because she doesn’t know if it is wrong to love someone who just destroyed her home. These deep thoughts and realizations were powerful and were the strong points in the story. I think the weak point in the story came close to the end. When the family finally reaches the American army, they lose Marlene and she isn’t found until the very end of the story. I think this was weird because Marlene had been such a big part of the story, and at the end, there was hardly any mention of her. Plus, how do you lose an elephant?

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about World War II or about conflicted romance. Because we are in the United States, we mainly read about the war from our standpoint rather than the standpoint of Germany. This book gives you an insight for what life was like for innocent people living in Germany. This book is also about a teenage girl who is experiencing a conflict about the man she loves. She doesn’t know if she should avoid Peter because he is considered an “enemy”, or love him because of what kind of person he is. In the end, she learns a valuable lesson that people on different sides of the war aren’t that different after all. (less)

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Aug 17, 2012 Nafisa Shabbir rated it 5 of 5 stars

An Elephant in the Garden:

Michael Morpurgo's Elephant in the Garden is about a family displaced by war. Set in Germany in 1945, it explores the story of Elizabeth, her brother Karli and their mother, not to mention their pet elephant Marlene! As a result of the war their father is enlisted to join the army forcing their mother to take on work at a local zoo. It is here that she comes across an orphaned elephant called Marlene who the family befriend. As a result of the war, and with Russian troo...more An Elephant in the Garden:

Michael Morpurgo's Elephant in the Garden is about a family displaced by war. Set in Germany in 1945, it explores the story of Elizabeth, her brother Karli and their mother, not to mention their pet elephant Marlene! As a result of the war their father is enlisted to join the army forcing their mother to take on work at a local zoo. It is here that she comes across an orphaned elephant called Marlene who the family befriend. As a result of the war, and with Russian troops drawing closer, the zoo owner confides to Elizabeth's mother that some of the wild animals will be destroyed. Alarmed at the decision Elizabeth's mother persuades the zoo owner to allow her to take Marlene.
As the Russian troops move closer to their village of Dresden the family are forced to make their way to the countryside, where it is deemed to me more safer. Taking their pet Elephant with them the family encounter many struggles along the way. They are faced with starvation, long walks and the bitter cold, as well as meeting other refugees in a similar situation. Whilst, Marlene the elephant proves a great companion during their long journey she also draws unwanted attention to them and the family are forced to leave the other refugees and find their own path to the countryside. On reaching their destination, (Elizabeth's Aunty's house) they find the place deserted except for a Canadian soldier called Peter. Peter is treated with caution to begin with as he is seen as an enemy and part of the Allied troops. However, after a series of events and him saving Karli's life the family warm to him and they continue their journey into the coutryside. Upon being found by the American troops Elizabeth and family are placed in a camp for displaced German refugees, whilst Peter continues his quest with the army. Both he and Elizabeth vow to write to each other, and they do so for many years. When the war is over Peter and Elizabeth get married and she emigrates to Canada with Peter, where her family later also join her.

I loved this book as it really gets to the heart of war and the trials and tribulations that many people like Elizabeth and her family had to face. The story itself is told in bits from Elizabeth herself who is now in her 80's and lives in a old peoples home. The book deals with issues such as war, refugees and poverty sensitively and in a way which children can understand easily. Marlene the elephant for me is an excellent character, she is a symbol of loyalty, compassion, tolerance and above all unconditional love.

Due to its content i believe that this book would be suitable for children between the ages of 8-11yrs. This book can be used as a source of inspiration for many lessons including, Geography, History and English. In Geography children can use the map to pinpoint and located the countries mentioned in the book, and see the journey that Elizabeth and her family undertook. As this book is enriched in history, the children can learn about Germany and the first and second world war, a trip to the Imperial War Museum where they can see the costumes, diaries of soldiers as well as machinery would be beneficial and exciting. For English/Literacy, the children could pretend to be a refugee and write a letter to their friend or relative explaining their situation and how they are feeling. (less)

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Aug 15, 2012 Brenda rated it 3 of 5 stars

An Elephant in the Garden is a story written in 2010 about World War II. While this is a fiction book, it is based
on some true events. This story is set in Dresden, Germany near the end of World War II. Lizzie is a young woman with a father fighting in the war, a younger brother who has asthma and walks with a limp and a mother who volunteers her time at the zoo in the park near their house. Lizzie's mother befriends an orphan elephant and eventually brings her
home to the family garden to live a...more An Elephant in the Garden is a story written in 2010 about World War II. While this is a fiction book, it is based
on some true events. This story is set in Dresden, Germany near the end of World War II. Lizzie is a young woman with a father fighting in the war, a younger brother who has asthma and walks with a limp and a mother who volunteers her time at the zoo in the park near their house. Lizzie's mother befriends an orphan elephant and eventually brings her
home to the family garden to live at night. When the bombing of Dresden begins, Lizzie, her mother, brother and the elephant begin to walk out of the city to safety. Upon arriving at an aunt and uncles house, they find it deserted except for a Canadian soldier who had parachuted from a plane. Through a series of events they decide they can trust this
soldier and together this "family" begins walking across Germany to the safety of the American soldiers. The story is told by an elderly Lizzie to a nurse and her son at the nursing home where Lizzie is now living. It is really a story within a story, but the majority of the book centers on the events in Germany.

There were many things to like about this book. It shared the experience of war through the eyes of children. Children
reading/listening to this book can get an understanding of war from the perspective of someone near their age. I was reading this book aloud to my daughter while I was reading Katherine Paterson's The Day of the Pelican to myself. I was struck by the similar experiences children faced in wars separated by more than 50 years. Both books made me wonder why the world hasn't learned from these terrible past experiences. The elephant adds an interesting element in that she raises the spirits of those who meet her. In this way I feel the book is similar to Soldier Bear and the positive impact the bear had on the lives of the soldiers. It was interesting to read of a German family during WWII. Most books about this period of time focus on the atrocities of the German soldiers and I tend to forget that there were ordinary people living in Germany whose lives were completely disrupted. The mother in this story teaches her children not to hate the enemy, but rather to understand that the war is a result of "a world gone mad,...a world full of brutes, all intent on killing one another. And we should not forget that we are all responsible for making it happen, for letting it happen." (page 76).

I believe this book would be of interest to any child who likes animals or wants to learn more about WWII. It would be great for independent reading, to use as a read aloud or for literary circles. I should mention that there is some inappropriate language used in this book by soldiers. This would not stop me from using the book, but I would want to be aware of it and prepare students for it's use. (less)

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Jul 28, 2012 Brenda rated it 4 of 5 stars

An Elephant in the Garden shares an unusual story of war. At the same time that it is devastating and tragic, it is uplifting and hopeful. Lizzie is old and frail; so fragile that she has been moved into a nursing home. The narrator of the book is a nurse there. She is also a single mom, so on weekends, snow days or days when she takes on extra hours her son Karl comes too. If the weather is right, he brings his friends and they play in the snow outside the home – often to the great delight of t...more
An Elephant in the Garden shares an unusual story of war. At the same time that it is devastating and tragic, it is uplifting and hopeful. Lizzie is old and frail; so fragile that she has been moved into a nursing home. The narrator of the book is a nurse there. She is also a single mom, so on weekends, snow days or days when she takes on extra hours her son Karl comes too. If the weather is right, he brings his friends and they play in the snow outside the home – often to the great delight of the people living there. It was on one of those days that Karl met Lizzie. They formed a special bond and each day when he came he would sit by her and listen to her stories. His mom questioned them and wondered if they were just the addled ramblings of the elderly. Karl doesn’t think that is true because she is so sure and certain as she speaks.

February 13th is the anniversary of an event that shaped Lizzie’s life and with Karl there on that day she is compelled to tell the tale, her tale about what happened when an elephant came to live in her garden in Dresden Germany. Lizzie starts at the beginning – explaining how her Papi was off on the Russian front and with most of the men gone how the women had done their work. She explained that Mutti (her mother) had begun to care for the animals in the zoo. She had seen an elephant born and had been asked to name her. She chose Marlene, after the actor and singer popular in the day. When Marlene’s mother died Mutti was the only one who could comfort her. As bombing threats became certainty, plans were made to kill the larger, more dangerous animals so they would not become a threat to those who survived. Mutti could not bear the thought of gentle, sweet, baby Marlene being shot and so she worked out a deal with Herr Direktor. And that is how Marlene became a member of Lizzie’s family, residing with them in the garden.

All was fine (well, as fine as living day to day surrounded by the threats of war can be) for a time, but then the Allies bombed Dresden. Wave after wave of bombs fell. Already agitated, a frightened Marlene ran and the family – Mutti, Lizzie and her little brother, Karli followed afraid of being separated. Together they joined the long line of refugees fleeing the city, moving out into the country and to the relative safety of being behind enemy lines. They chose to move toward the Allies. Lizzie’s family could not move with the others – they were not like the others. They had an elephant in their family- an elephant who leads them into and through incredible events as they travel toward safety, together.

An Elephant in the Garden is inspired by a true story, and while is does not shy away from the harshness of war there is no fighting and killing in this tale. This book shares the plight of the people who are innocently caught in the crossfire of war. It shares how those people feel about the war around them and recounts how little acts of kindness and moments of sheer terror shape lives. I came to love Lizzie’s family and to marvel at their courage and fierce commitment to what is right. I was amazed by what they did and how stayed together through turmoil with care and respect. You must read An Elephant in the Garden to find out what happens to Marlene and her family, to discover how Lizzie is here to share her story and gain greater understanding of the long reaching affects of war.

This book reminded me of The Faithful Elephants by Yukio Tsuchiya ( a picture book I have never been able to successfully read out loud. I just can’t) and Kelly Milner Halls recent The Bagdad Zoo. These book also share how zoos and animals suffer the consequences of war.

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Jul 24, 2012 Hannah Burgess rated it 5 of 5 stars

What a story! From the blurb on the back and the front cover of the book, it would have been hard to guess the story line, which prompts the saying 'never judge a book by it's cover!' This book tells the story of Lizzie who is a patient at a nursing home retelling of her tale of when there was an elephant in her garden. This story no one had believed before, until the son of one of the nurses insists that Lizzie tells him the whole story of the elephant. Lizzie's story is of how her mother had w...more What a story! From the blurb on the back and the front cover of the book, it would have been hard to guess the story line, which prompts the saying 'never judge a book by it's cover!' This book tells the story of Lizzie who is a patient at a nursing home retelling of her tale of when there was an elephant in her garden. This story no one had believed before, until the son of one of the nurses insists that Lizzie tells him the whole story of the elephant. Lizzie's story is of how her mother had worked as a zoo keeper and had saved a young elephants life in World War 2 by caring for it at home. this story however is not just about having a young elephant in the garden it also retells the journey of the family and the elephant to western Germany to escape the bombing on their home town. On their journey the family meets a Canadian soldier who they eventually agree to travel with and to protect his real identity.

The story is intense and after every chapter leaves the reader on a cliff hanger. I believe this book would be appropriate to read to children aged year 3 up as a whole class. The book prompts a lot of questions that could be asked to the children, such as : what would you do in that situation? do you think the family should have protected the man who was the perceived enemy? why do you think no one believed Lizzie about the elephant? would you have believed her? how would you feel in that situation? These sorts of questions are something that the whole class could discuss either taking in turns or in small groups.

This book personally took me approximately three hours to read as I could not put it down, however I feel it would obviously be more appropriate to maybe read to the class a chapter a day possibly at home time or before lunch time.

Children can also learn from this the importance of not being prejudiced towards other people because of who you think they might be or how you presume they might behave.There are also a few German words used in the book which the children could learn.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any KS2 teacher who wants to keep their class totally engaged with an unexpected miraculous story.

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Jul 14, 2012 Kermit rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: junior-fiction

3.99 stars

This is based on a true story about a woman who lived in Ireland during World War II and worked at a zoo. The zoo officials had decided that if air raids came too close to the zoo, the larger animals would have to be killed so that they would not escape and cause danger to the community. The woman had raised an elephant since it was a baby and got permission to take the elephant home with her every night so that it would always be safe.

The author changed the setting of this story to Dr...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Suzejf rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was read to a Year 4 class and proved to be a hit. It is another variation on Morpurgo's favourite theme of how animals possess immense innocent courage and yet suffer in a barbaric human world. The story hinges around a catastrophic World War II event; the fire-bombing of Dresden by the RAF in 1945 and a family’s refugee odyssey. The family – a strong resourceful mother, her wilful teenage daughter, partly crippled young son and a stubborn young elephant called Marlene – flee westward...more

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Feb 09, 2012 Shirley rated it 4 of 5 stars

The reader developed a close affinity to Marlene, the elephant, during the family's escape from Dresden. Morpurgo tied up all of the loose ends at the novel's end, but it felt as though Marlene was not only lost to the family but abandoned by the author. I needed more information to fill the void that lapsed in Marlene's life between the end of the war and the encounter that ensued in Toronto.

Favorite quotes:
Lizzie made the following observation as Russian forces bombed Dresden, Germany. "Antiai...more

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May 03, 2011 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children-s-books, war-works, first-person-narration

Having started to read Slaughterhouse 5 I felt in need of something a little less traumatic and weird so picked up this which i had bought ages ago as I have bought every book he has written since I began buying his stories for my nephews and nieces 20 years ago. My children's book bookshelves groan with riches but Morpurgo can be a little hit and miss. This one straddles the divide. Having put aside Vonnegut for a while I was amused to find that this novel, as so many of Morpurgo's is set in th...more

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Oct 05, 2010 Nicola rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Reason for Reading: I like the author and would simply read anything he wrote.

This story set during WWII is from a perspective which I don't read much of, that of the everyday German family. I have read books from the German perspective but usually they are hiding Jews and that would be the focus of the story. An Elephant in the Garden does not really explore the War itself very much, outside of what this middle class pacifist family would know from the propaganda they were fed. Before the war a...more Reason for Reading: I like the author and would simply read anything he wrote.

This story set during WWII is from a perspective which I don't read much of, that of the everyday German family. I have read books from the German perspective but usually they are hiding Jews and that would be the focus of the story. An Elephant in the Garden does not really explore the War itself very much, outside of what this middle class pacifist family would know from the propaganda they were fed. Before the war actually starts they have had a heated argument with their closest relatives who have said they never want to see them again as they believe Hitler will be good for the country and our family, living in Dresden think he is a madman. War starts and Papi is called to active duty, sent to fight in France and later in Russia. Mutti has gotten herself a job working at the local zoo which is a walkable distance from their home. With this background, we enter the main theme of the book as the Allies are winning, drawing nearer to the cities, and then Dresden is bombed to a pile of ash. Mutti, Karl and Elizabeth leave the city as many refugees do as they have the Americans coming from one side and the Russians from the other and no one wants to suffer at the hands of the Russians. So they all head towards the Americans, but Mutti feels she must bring Marlene with her, a very sad, grieving baby elephant whose mother died several months ago. Mutti has known her since she was born. Marlene has been living in their garden overnights and has become a part of the family. It is a hard journey for any refugee as they trudge for weeks through the snow, rationing a dwindling supply of food, with the Russians ever present at their back but with an elephant along this brings added elements both bad and good.

This is a delightful story but wasn't as good as I was expecting it to be. It was a very quiet story, with interesting things happening but without any buildup to a big climax; it simply told a fascinating story with a calm approach. From the point of the German family it was a bit strange as the war as a whole was not a topic, only how it affected them: loosing Papi to the army and then the penultimate loss of house and home from the bombings. Hitler is mentioned twice by German characters who vehemently despised everything he stood for. Otherwise this could have been any war and I think there are two ways of understanding this story.

One, from the everyday German civilian's point of view who suffered as much as any Allied civilian who had his town bombed to smithereens. This reminds us that wars are started by governments not the civilians. Second, the story focuses on the refugee status of the family, the long journey to safety, and upon safety being labeled "displaced persons" and put into a fenced-in camp. This compares to the modern day war refugees we see on TV today who have been driven from their homes and shows that refugeeism is a fall-out from war itself and has happened in every war to both sides, throughout history.

A good read. Marlene the elephant adds humour and quirkiness to the story, she also brings people together who would not otherwise have spoken to each other. But yet, with all that goes on, it is still a quiet book that goes at a steady pace and lingers.(less)

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Sep 27, 2012 Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: animals, kids-chap-books, library

Wonderful tale of a families survival during WW2 - survival by elephant, you might say! Papi has been sent to the Russian front to fight, and Mutti is working for the zoo in Dresden when the zoo director tells his staff the plans for killing the zoo animals when the inevitable bombing of Dresden begins. Mutti can't bear the idea of killing Marlene, the orphan baby elephant, now just 4 years old. She convinced the zoo director to let her take Marlene home with her, across the park, where she can...more

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Dec 23, 2011 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: middle-grade-novel, world-war-ii-novel

An excellent book. Lizzie is in a nursing home and has been telling the nurses that there "was an elephant in the garden." No one believes her until one of the nurse's sons hears her story. He believes her and gets his mom to believe her too. They patiently listen to her whole story about the elephant and their escape from Dresden during the bombing of the city in World War II. During this time, Liz, her mother, and her brother Karli befriend an Allied bomber navigator who was shot down during t...more

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Dec 05, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: recent-reads, quick-reads

a beautifully told story about elizabeth and her family that lives in dresden in the final months of WWII. her father is sent away to russia to fight. her brother karli is only 9 when the father leaves and becomes the man of the house. her mother works at the dresden zoo which is how lizzi's family comes to take care of marlene, an elephant that has lost its mother and so the family adopts her as their own.

every night mutti (lizzi's mother) walks with marlene to the house. the family houses her...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Diane rated it 5 of 5 stars

What a lovely story! Michael Morpurgo is a prolific author of children's animal stories. He is probably best known for the very popular "War Horse." This is a book aimed at the middle school age but is perfectly enjoyable for those who are older. It is inspired by a true story and it would help if young readers had a basic knowledge of WW II before reading it.

This particular story focuses on the bombing of Dresden. Lizzie, age 16, lives with her mother (a zookeeper) and younger brother Karl in a...more

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Jun 16, 2013 Alex Baugh added it · review of another edition

Shelves: world-war-2

When 9 year old Karl is forced to go to work on weekends at a Canadian nursing home with his mother, a nurse, he finds himself drawn to an elderly patient name Lizzie. And the attraction is mutual. Karl is the only person there who believes Lizzie when she says that she once had an elephant in her garden. Slowly, Lizzie tell her story to Karl and his mother.

Lizzie had lived with her mother, a zookeeper, and her young brother Karli in Dresden, Germany during World War II. Though very much against...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Ryan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Very sweet, and from a different perspective than many war books. Lizzie tells the story of living with her family in Dresden, of the approaching war and then, of war. Her family is one of the many who were not Nazis, not Jewish, just German living with a ruler they disagreed with and trying to make the best of things. Her father is sent off to fight, leaving Lizzie, her little brother and their mother, to get by. Unlike the other Germans, they adopt an elephant from the zoo, and Marlene, the el...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Kim McGee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wonderful story based on a mixup of real events. I am a sucker for any kind of animal story that combines animals and people working together under terrible circumstances and An Elephant in the Garden is just that. A nurse in a retirement home and her son sit down to hear the story told by one of the home's residents about her youth in Dresden,Germany during World War II. Her mother was one of the zookeepers and helped save an elephant that she cared for as well as saving the family after the ho...more

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Feb 11, 2012 Mary Ann Rupcich rated it 5 of 5 stars

While War Horse was an exciting story, it was a little strange told by the horse. But this author did a great job with An Elephant in the Garden! The story was a real page turner. It made me feel that I had gone back in time and was in Europe 1945! What a great idea to tell this war story through the voice of a German girl from Dresden! (Really the young girl as an old woman in a nursing home told the story!) It reminded me of all those old WWII movies I watched as a kid! There was excitement, r...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Lindsay rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ar-5-2, brothers-and-sisters, children, elephants, family, for-middle-grades-4-8, garden, german, germany, elderly, growing-up, historical-fiction, internment-camps, mothers, romance, siblings, singing, snow, world-war-ii, zoo, music, canada, canadian, war, military

I loved this story about a family and an elephant, later joined by a Canadian navigator on the Allied side (a little Summer of my German Soldier-like, of which I am a fan), who trudged through the countryside away from burning Dresden during World War II. I also loved the way Lizzie relates her story in her old age to a nurse and her son at a nursing home who at first don't quite believe an elephant literally lived in her family's garden during the war. I also thought it was great that the autho...more

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May 31, 2013 Jamasa rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an excellent work of historical fiction from the author of War Horse. An Elephant in the Garden is set in Dresden, Germany, during WWII. The mother, Mutti, works at the Dresden Zoo and convinces the zoo director to let her take Marlene a young elephant home with her at night after Marlene's mother dies and the elephant becomes depressed. Luckily, the night of the Dresden fire bombings the family (Mutti, Elizabeth, Karli) and Marlene are able to escape the city before it is engulfed in fl...more

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May 13, 2013 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, upper-elementary, young-adult

I chose this book on a whim off the shelf in the school library.

It's an interesting blend of fact and fiction. The author, who has written a number of books on WWII, was looking for a new angle on the war when he learned of the fate of many zoo animals: they were shot to prevent the animals from ravaging the populace in the case of a bombing or fire.

The novel reminded me of Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People, and War, a real tear jerker. While this story novel didn't necessitate...more

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Apr 04, 2012 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

A interesting, lovely book from the author of "War Horse." "Elephant" tells the story of a German family who are trying to save the life of a young elephant during the bombing of Dresden, and their subsequent flight from advancing Russian forces in the middle of winter. Morpurgo based this lovely tale off several tidbits of real information -- there was a lady in Ireland who saved an elephant similarly -- although by placing the facts IN the heart of war-torn Germany, it heightens the effect. Po...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Janet rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, juv-lit

This beautiful story is based on actual events. If you love animals, this is the book for you. The story is told by Lizzie who is in a nursing home. She tells the story to a nurse and her son Karl, who reminds Lizzie of her brother Karli. At first, everyone thinks she is making the story up, but by the end of the book, Karl and his mom believe her.
Lizzi's Mutti (mom) worked in the zoo in Dresden, her papi was fighting in the war. When Mutti is told that the animals will be destroyed if the city...more

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About Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo is the author of many books for children, five of which have been made into films. He also writes his own screenplays and libretti for opera. Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1943, he was evacuated to Cumberland during the last years of the war, then returned to London, moving later to Essex. After a brief and unsuccessful spell in the army, he took up teaching and started to...more

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