An Elephant in the Garden

By: Michael Morpurgo

Narrated by: Fiona Clarke

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

It’s 1945. Elizabeth's father is fighting with the German army on the eastern front. Her mother works at Dresden zoo, where her favourite animal is a young elephant named Marlene. When the zoo director tells her the dangerous animals must be shot to prevent them running amok when the town is bombed, Elizabeth's mother moves Marlene into the back garden to save her… and then the bombs start to fall.

Their home destroyed, Elizabeth and her family must flee the bombed-out city and through the wintery landscape, all the while avoiding the Russian troops who are drawing ever closer. It would be hard enough, without an elephant in tow…

©2010 HarperCollins Publishers (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

Great story!

Chose this book for our week of cousin camp with our grands. They loved it!!!

The book is amazing especially the ending

The ending is amazing. I feel like when you read you have to keep going cause you want to know what happens next I loved the ending. Not to be a spoiler, but when she says” I knew it was here. And I knew she knew it was me” when I read it literally started crying best book defentily recommend . I used this for a book report. It has so much info

Heartwarming

What a sweet read about love & tolerance amongst war. And of corse the joy of the rare friendship that so very few humans are gifted by an elephant.

Wonderful

If you are not German and have a biased view of the second world war this book will help right it....

Absolutely recommend

The narrator does such a good job of illustrating this story. It pulled at my heart yet still remained wholesome enough to have my daughter read next. Really great book. Finish in a few hours. The book is so riveting that I couldn't stop listening.

A women’s story, impact and resilience of WW2

What do you do with the animals in the zoo when a war breaks out? This story follows the narrative of a young girl, her family, and an elephants as they are displaced due to the bombing in Getmany. Along their journey with the elephant the family acquires another stranger that travels with them. Thankfully the elephant is a distraction that keeps the attention away from the stranger. The story focuses on resilience, forgiveness, and perspective.

sweet story

sad but sweet. the performance was amazing and made it seen like you were traveling with the group.

Amazing story!!

Absolutely loved the narration! I couldn’t stop listening. This beautiful story will stay with me for a long time!

Great story,, well performed.

Our grandkids loved it, as did we. Great for passing the time on a long car trip.

Needed in my life

It’s deep, inspiring and hopeful. Also eye opening to see the other sides of pain and hardship, with every character.