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Summary
Summary
Master storyteller Sonya Hartnett crafts a magical and moving fable about war and redemption . . . and what it means to be free.
When the Germans attack their Romany encampment during World War II, Andrej and his younger brother, Tomas, flee through a ravaged countryside under cover of darkness, guarding a secret bundle. Their journey leads to a bombed-out town, where the boys discover a hidden wonder: a zoo filled with creatures in need of hope. Like Andrej and Tomas, the animals--wolf and eagle, monkey and bear, lioness and seal, kangaroo and llama-- have stories to share and a mission to reclaim their lives.
Author Notes
Sonya Hartnett was born on March 23, 1968 in Victoria. She is an Australian author of fiction for adults, young adults, and children. She was thirteen years old when she wrote her first novel and fifteen when it was published for the adult market in Australia, Trouble All the Way. For years she has written about one novel annually. According to the National Library of Australia, "The novel for which Hartnett has achieved the most critical (and controversial) acclaim was Sleeping Dogs" (1995). "A book involving incest between brother and sister and often critiqued as 'without hope', Sleeping Dogs generated enormous discussion within Australia. For her book Thursday's Child, she won the annual Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a once-in-a-lifetime book award judged by a panel of British children's writers.
Her titles include: The Boy and the Toy, Come Down, Cat!, Sadie and Ratz and The Children of the King. She will be attending the Sydney Writers Festival 2015. She made the shortlist for the Miles Franklin Literary Award with her title Golden Boys. This title also made the 2015 Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlist.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (6)
Publisher's Weekly Review
This somber yet not hopeless fable set during WWII offers a haunting portrait of families, human and otherwise, torn apart. Two Romany boys, 12-year-old Andrej and nine-year-old Tomas, flee with their infant sister after German soldiers arrest their relatives, discovering a bombed-out town with an intact zoo. Lindgren Award-winner Hartnett (Butterfly) combines powerful prose with magical realism to heighten this setting and develop the personalities of the animals that the boys meet, who begin to speak after another round of bombing. The group-including a silent eagle, a mischievous monkey, a lioness whose family has been taking from her, and a seal stolen from its mother as a pup-spend a charged night sharing stories. Offermann's (The Boneshaker) delicate b&w drawings introduce each chapter. Hartnett doesn't minimize the horrors the boys have seen, making a profound case for the futility of war while exploring questions about responsibility and freedom. "You are a mysterious animal, you know," the bear tells the brothers. "A bear does what a bear must do to keep itself alive. But a man does many things that he has no need to do." Ages 10-up. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
By a chance of timing, two Romany boys and their baby sister are overlooked when their whole community is rounded up by German soldiers in World War II. Thrown on to their own resources, the children forage and scavenge for several weeks until one night they find themselves in a small zoo, abandoned by humans but still inhabited by ten animals -- who, in that magical and tragic time and place, begin to talk. Over the course of the long night, they share their stories: of brutality, courage both wise and foolish, despair, hope, and the arrogance of humankind. As dawn breaks, the narrative shifts further into magic realism, to the story of an escape journey that then modulates into a kaleidoscopic vision of a savior goddess. Hartnett's particular combination of crystal-edged realism and operatic scope -- "bridges were drowned, streets were torn up, houses were on fire and spilling gizzards of bedheads, kitchen tables, bathtubs, typewriters" -- makes for a riveting, edgy read, leaving one examining the whole notion of civilization versus wildness. sarah ellis (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Andrej and Tomas are the only survivors, along with their infant sister, of a German attack on their Romany encampment. Traveling at night, they encounter an abandoned zoo in a bombed-out village. Used to a lifetime of wandering, the boys have a deep appreciation for freedom a freedom that is denied the zoo animals. During a single evening, the animals and children share their stories of war and loss. The animals are so bitter about their confinement that the troubles of war seem almost a secondary concern, while the boys are shell-shocked but focused on survival. The resolution at the end, although stirring in its magic realism, may confuse some readers. Still, this middle-grade fantasy from Printz Honor Book author Hartnett is alternately lyrical and stark, and it manages to combine adventure with a more thoughtful exploration of the nature of freedom and hope. Offermann's beautiful pencil illustrations at the beginning of each chapter evoke the message at the heart of this book, that though cages come and get you, the determination to endure will win out.--Dean, Kara Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7-10- Like a 20th-century version of Avi's Crispin, who fled across 14th-century England, 12-year-old Andrej is without parents and adrift in Europe during World War II with his younger brother, Tomas, and infant sister in tow. Without destination or an understanding of the war that has divided them from their nomadic Roma clan, the siblings travel by night and sleep by day, sensing danger at every juncture. Andrej scavenges for their food and necessities for the baby. One moon-drenched evening, the trio arrives at a zoo in the ruins of a bombed village. They encounter a menagerie of talking animals, trapped in zoo cages with neither keeper nor keys. Throughout a surreal evening, the boys and animals share life stories. Through the animals, Andrej and Tomas begin to understand the nature of man and war. This understanding, however, offers more questions than answers. Richard Aspel's, rich and sonorous voice creates memorable characterizations for the many humans and animals in Sonya Harnett's novel (Candlewick, 2011), including German-speaking soldiers; his Aussie pronunciation requires a keen ear. Listeners who persevere will be rewarded with a stellar performance. With some aspects of fable, minimal dialogue, and heavy use of allegory, this artfully crafted look at the character of man and the concept of freedom may have limited popular appeal.-Lisa Taylor, Ocean County Library, NJ (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In a bombed town, two gypsy boys discover a zoo where abandoned animals teach them the meaning of freedom amid war's chaos.After witnessing their Romany caravan, including their parents and uncle, callously demolished by soldiers two months earlier, 12-year-old Andrej and his 9-year-old brother Tomas flee with their baby sister into what seems to be the European countryside of World War II. Trusting no one, they travel by night to avoid soldiers and civilians who hate them because they are Roms and "different." Even though "fear beat inside Andrej like a dark, angry bird," he tries to appear "calm and undaunted for Tomas, as if the precarious life they lived was unexceptional, and held no terrors at all." When the boys find a mysterious zoo with a talking lioness, bear, wolf, chamois, eagle, boar, seal, llama, monkey and kangaroo, they share their meager food and stories with these fellow war victims. Helplessly trapped, the animals long for freedom but fear the unknown as Andrej tries to release them. Written in lyrical, spare prose, the plot encompasses a single night in which doomed animals and brave boys cling to hope in a world that makes no sense. Black-and-white spot art highlights animals and key scenes.An evocative story about unusual war victims whose enduring belief in goodness brings true freedom. (Fable. 10 up) ]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Fleeing an Eastern European World War II invasion, two young gypsy boys and their infant sister take refuge in an abandoned zoo, where they discover a menagerie of talking animals who long, like them, to be free. The boys and the animals share their stories as the children try to make sense of their present lives. Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award-winning Australian writer Hartnett's latest work of crossover YA fiction translates beautifully to audio owing to high production quality and Audie Award winner Richard Aspel's well-paced reading and skillful variations of the male and female voices. Recommended not only for children/younger YAs but also for adults interested in wartime fiction and thought-provoking fable-like tales. [Hartnett's backlist of 18 previous titles is also available from Bolinda Audio.-Ed.]-Laurie Selwyn, formerly with Grayson Cty. Law Lib., Sherman, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
