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    An Elephant in the Garden
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    An Elephant in the Garden
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    An Elephant in the Garden
    Ebook51 pages37 minutes

    An Elephant in the Garden

    By Simon Reade and Michael Morpurgo

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    1945. Dresden, Germany. Lizzie, her mother – and an elephant from the zoo, flee the Allied fire-bombing in the end-game of the Second World War.
    Escaping the Allies’ advance from the West – and also the advancing Russian armies from the East – this extraordinary trio of refugees meet: a downed RAF officer, cowering in a barn; a homeless school choir on the run and their Countess saviour, harbouring them from the Nazis; and the mechanised American cavalry, appearing over the horizon.
    It is Lizzie’s story – but Marlene, the elephant, is theheroine. Plodding, obdurate, opportunistic, load-bearing, indestructible, cheering – Marlene embodies the stubbornness of the human will and how it will do everything to survive.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOBERON BOOKS Ltd
    Release dateOct 15, 2014
    ISBN9781783196739
    Author

    Simon Reade

    Simon Reade has previously adapted Ted Hughes’s Tales from Ovid and Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the award-winning dramatisation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for Bristol Old Vic. His adaptations published by Oberon Books include Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Michael Morpurgo’s War Plays and Twist of Gold, Philip Pullman’s The Scarecrow and His Servant, Penelope Lively’s Moon Tiger and Geraldine McCaughrean’s Not the End of the World. He is the author of Dear Mr. Shakespeare: Letters to a Jobbing Playwright, also published by Oberon Books, and wrote the critically acclaimed screenplay of Private Peaceful (Fluidity Films, 2012).

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    Reviews for An Elephant in the Garden

    4/5

    76 ratings15 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I read this as an adult and found it to be a very engaging and well written story for all ages. I recommended it to various family members and friends.
    • 3/5
      Great historical fiction for kids grades 4-6, maybe 7. based on a few true stories that he mashed to make this one, it is the journey of Elizabeth and her family as they leave their home during the bombing of Dresden, taking an orphaned elephant with them. It is uplifting and interesting in the way that Lowery's Number the Stars is. I can see this on some school lists...the one the kids will enjoy!
    • 4/5
      A very touching story of a young girl and her family trying to survive amidst the war. A heart-warming story that gives you inspiration to keep on going in life...
    • 5/5
      This story begins in a nursing home with the narrator and her son, Karl, speaking to a resident of the home named Lizzie. Lizzie has often told people that there had been an elephant that lived in her garden when she was younger. No one ever believed her until Karl did. So Lizzie tells her incredible story to Karl and his mother. Lizzie grew up in Dresden, Germany. Her father, Papi, went away to fight in the war and left Lizzie, her mother Muttie, and her younger brother Karli to fend the best they could during wartimes. Muttie worked as a zookeeper and became enamored with an elephant she named Marlene. Because Marlene lost her mother suddenly, Muttie took it upon herself to help Marlene through her grief. Everyday after work Muttie brought Marlene home where she stayed in the garden until Muttie returned to work in the morning. Marlene became a cherished member of the family and ultimately saved their lives. After their town was destroyed by bombers, the family, with Marlene in tow, headed through the countryside away from the approaching Russians and toward the American soldiers. Soon into their journey they met a Canadian RAF soldier named Peter who, with his invaluable compass, helped lead the way to safety. There are no illustrations within the book, but the cover illustration shows the family walking away from their home with Marlene on a cold winter night.Inspired by a true story, this book tells the incredible story of a German family making their way to safety with their beloved elephant.
    • 5/5
      Dying in a hospital bed, Lizzie tells her story to a nurse and her young son. During World War II, Lizzie's mom brought home an elephant, Marlene, from the local zoo. Karli, Lizzie's brother instantly fell in love with Marlene. Forced to flee the city when it was destroyed by bombs, the family takes the elephant with them. Often, the elephant acted as an ice breaker between the family and other refugees.This was a fast paced quick read. I think it is perfect for pre-teens and young teenagers. The characters were well designed and were very realistic. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.
    • 5/5
      An Elephant in the Garden is another wonderful war story based on real life events, as only Morpurgo can tell them. An 80-something year old woman in an old folks home recalls her girlhood days living in Dresden, Germany during WWII, when her mother brought back an elephant from the zoo she was working at to keep in their garden just before the allied forces bombed the city to smithereens. Through a series of circumstances, the elephant who had run off to charge at a barking dog ended up rescuing the girl and her mother and brother from the bombing, and accompanied them on a long march to safety (their father was meanwhile fighting on the Russian front). The elephant was called Marlena, after Marlena Dietrich, and something tells me I'll never forget this story or Marlena, in part because I'm crazy about animals in general and elephants in particular, in part because I cherish stories about how essential to life animals are, and in part because it's so rare to hear stories about the war from the point of view of the Germans. For all these reasons, I've just now decided to upgrade my original rating from 4 to 4.5 stars. I might have rated it the full 5, but was a bit annoyed that they chose an English narrator to tell the tale in an unconvincing German accent on this audio version instead of casting a native German speaker, but that's me being finicky.
    • 4/5
      A story within a story, an elderly nursing home patient, Elizabeth (Lizzie) tells a caretaker and her son about the escape of her family from Dresden in winter of 1945 with an elephant in tow. Along the arduous trek they surprise a wounded Canadian RAF navigator, who joins them on their journey.

      The story is based on two different true accounts, one of an Irish woman who saved an elephant in WWII and the other of a character met somewhere on the journey. Three unikely sets of friendship form during this book as well. It is nicely paced and keeps the reader interested throughout.
    • 3/5
      I was very attached to Marlene by the end of the book. I really enjoyed this book. The big picture of the book was to depict the lifestyle of refugees during World War II. The book also takes on the themes of compassion for enemies and animals during this time period. This book is based on actual events. Mopurgo does a great job of documenting the events, but making it his own.I really liked most of the characters. For example, Mopurgu really made Marlene, the elephant, a humanistic quality. Marlene is an Elephant from the Dresden Zoo. The zoo had orders to kill any animals if there was a bombing. Instead, Marlene's keeper convinces management to allow her to take her home at night. She bonds with the family, and after running away, saves her "family's" life. Her loyalty as an elephant is typical behavior for the animal. She certainly makes the story more of an driving force.I did not like the flashback method of the story. Marlene, the Royal Air Force Pilot and Marlene's family are strong characters. I feel like the nurse and her son did not help direct the story in any manner. They are not significant characters, but also do not really add anything of real interest to the story. They just serve as people to share the story with, which just does not any significance. Overall, I enjoyed the story
    • 5/5
      A wonderful, moving and inspiring story from a brilliant storyteller.
    • 3/5
      Not Murpurgo's best, but a good, solid story that mixes the fantastical animal relationship with the devastating hardships of war. The structure of the storytelling could have used some work, but the magic is in the story itself, in its heart, with an ending like a warm smile.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book! It is yet another wonderful example of Young adult genre transcends a specific age category.During WWII Dresden Germany was blasted/bombed unmercifully. This is a tale of an older woman, now in a nursing home, who recounts the story of her brave mother who worked in the zoo and fearing that an elephant she had tended since its childhood would die in the war, brought the animal home.When Dresden was bombed the family left the ruined city and made a trek westward with the elephant in tow.This is an insightful story of an elephant who was saved and in turn saved a family.Highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      Michael Morpurgo's latest (originally published in the UK last year) is a touching tale of a family trying to survive the fire bombing of Dresden with the help of a young elephant. I enjoyed the novel but was a bit disappointed. Certainly not as stunning as War Horse.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 5/5
      A frail and elderly Lizzie tells the story of her youth in Dresden Germany during World War II. Her father was fighting on the Russian front. Her mother was a zookeeper and fearing for the safety of the young elephant, she brought the animal home each night to their private garden. But the war is taking a toll on everyone and when the bombing begins on a snowy February night the family must flee the burning city. How can they possibly evade enemy troops with an elephant in tow?

      What a wonderful and heart-warming story! Inspired by true events, Morpurgo has crafted a tale of courage, perseverance, and kindness in the face of horrific deprivation. The author doesn’t dwell on the horrors of war, but he doesn’t skip them either. He shows that while nations may be enemies at war, individual people can (and do) disagree with their leaders. Morpurgo also takes the opportunity to show people doing what they believe is best and morally right despite the difficulty and even personal danger in doing so.

      I had previously read War Horse by the same author, and did not warm to it. So I was a little hesitant to read this one, but I’m glad I did, because I loved this book. I think the difference, for me, was the narrator. The earlier book was told from the animal’s point of view and I found that awkward. In contrast, I was easily able to connect with Lizzie. I’m sorry there are no young children in my life because I kept wanting to read it aloud; I could easily imagine a teacher capturing the attention of a class with this story.
    • 5/5
      By the author of War Horse, this is the story of a German family on the run after the bombing of Dresden. Well-written, easy read.