The Elephant in the Garden

Bibliography: Morpurgo, M. (2011). An elephant in the garden. New York: Feiwel and Friends.

ISBN: 978-1250034144

Genre: historical fiction

Reading Level/Interest Age: 10+; 12+

Plot Summary: The residents of Dresden, Germany, know an attack on their city is imminent. Bomb shelters are ready; families have prepared the best they can. Lizzie’s family has taken on an extra responsibility, though--an orphaned, four-ton elephant named Marlene. Lizzie’s mother, caretaker of the elephants at the zoo, believes that giving Marlene some extra attention during the nights will help keep her healthy. She brings Marlene home with her every night, much to Lizzie’s dismay. One evening, Marlene runs away and as the family scatters through the forest to find her, the enemy bombing begins. Their neighborhood, their friends, their home are destroyed in seconds, but because of an obstinate elephant, Lizzie and her family are alive. It’s the dead of winter and they have no supplies; the only option is to walk, with an elephant, towards safety, hundreds of kilometers away. Several days into their journey, Lizzie’s mother leads them on a trail away from all the other survivors. Only she knows that her sister lives on a farm tucked far back in the woods. Desperate for food and comfort, they find that while their family has evacuated, food is still plentiful for both humans and elephant. But the farm isn’t as safe as they thought--an enemy soldier, separated from his battalion, is hiding there. Peter isn’t as dangerous as they thought; in fact, he protects the family when soldiers come searching and rescues Lizzie’s brother, Karli, when he fall through the ice. As the motley group heads back into the icy forest, walking endless kilometers toward safety, Lizzie and Peter find comfort in each other. Marlene makes their group a target for scrutiny and terror is always present, so their dependence on each other grows quickly. How can they plan a future together when survival isn’t guaranteed?

Critical Evaluation: An Elephant in the Garden is a narrative told primarily in flashback, with the main character telling her story from her nursing home bed. The story is strong, conversational in its tone, but it is the fluidity of the writing that marks it as a great read. By always providing a detail or an anecdote that guides the reader further, the story moves quickly and prevents the reader from putting down the book, has them asking “What next?” For example, a barking dog causes Marlene to run away. The family then runs into the forest looking for her. It is such a seemingly innocent and typical (except for the elephant) event, yet the reader is hooked by sentences like “But I could see that there would be no stopping Marlene now, until she had either chased the dog out of sight, or trampled him to death” (68). The reader absolutely has to know what happens; they have to know that Marlene is safe. Lizzie, the 16 year-old protagonist, finds herself falling in love with an enemy soldier in the midst of one of the greatest tragedies our modern world has ever witnessed. While it would be easy enough to psychoanalyze her emotions as looking for comfort and happiness in a situation entirely lacking in them, the narrator (Lizzie herself 70 years later) brings simplicity and honesty back into the story. “When you are young, and you find for the first time that someone likes you like this, it is powerful. Very powerful.” (107) This validates the intensity of emotion that young adults feel and provides readers with a sense of being understood. As the story progresses and the love between Lizzie and Peter strengthens, we see their emotions for what they are. There isn’t over-analysis or adults constantly negating Lizzie’s feelings. The authentic narrative simply embraces young love in all its glory.

Reader’s Annotation: When an elephant named Marlene saves her during a harrowing escape from enemy forces, Lizzie wants to return the favor. Can she protect and save a four-ton elephant from the perils all around them?

Author Information: Michael Morpurgo (born October 5, 1943) is one of Britain's best-loved children's book writers. He has written more than 100 books and has won the Smarties Prize, the Whitbread Award, and most recently the Blue Peter Book Award for PRIVATE PEACEFUL. He is also the author of WAR HORSE, which has been made into a Tony Award-winning Broadway play and a Golden Globe-nominated film. Michael was Writer in Residence at The Savoy Hotel from January to March 2007, and previously he was Children's Laureate from 2003-2005, a role that took him across Britain to inspire a love of reading in children.¹

His work is noted for its "magical storytelling" for recurring themes such as the triumph of an outsider or survival, for characters' relationships with nature, and for vivid settings such as the Cornish coast or World War I.²  

Curriculum tie: World War II; international relations

Booktalks: animal safety; love during tragedy

Challenge issues: none

Reasoning: Inspired by a true story, An Elephant in the Garden provides a different perspective on the effects of war. It not only educates on the plight of civilians during wartime, but creates an inspiring bond between people who assumed they were enemies. This story has the ability to inspire readers to look beyond labels and develop relationships with those who they believe are fundamentally different from them, but may actually not be.

References:

An Elephant in the Garden. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2015, from http://www.amazon.com/An-Elephant-Garden-Michael-Morpurgo/dp/1250034140

¹Michael Morpurgo Author Page. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2015, from http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Morpurgo/e/B001HCUUT6/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

²Michael Morpurgo. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Morpurgo