An Elephant in the Garden

By Michael Morpurgo,

Book cover of An Elephant in the Garden: Inspired by a True Story

Book description

A thrilling and moving new novel about an extraordinary animal caught up in a very human war, for anyone who loved The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips or The Butterfly Lion...

Dresden, 1945. Elizabeth and Karli's mother works at the zoo, where her favourite animal is a young elephant named…

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Why read it?

1 author picked An Elephant in the Garden as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I love historical fiction, and I love stories within stories and this novel is both! It’s set at the end of World War II, just after the Allied bombing of Dresden. We’re following 16-year-old Elizabeth, her Mutti, her little brother Karli, and a downed Swiss-Canadian airman as they flee to safety near Heidelberg in the company of—yes, really—an elephant! A story of survival, of endurance, of building lives. The human relationships, in a dark and dangerous time, are brightened by the unexpected presence of one remarkable animal. 

From Uma's list on middle grade featuring elephants.

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