AN ELEPHANT IN THE GARDEN by Michael Morpurgo

copyright date: June 2011

primarily marketed for: intermediate readers (5^th grade and up)

Three things I cannot get enough of are:

1.     books that take place during WWII (there is so much to know about this important time in our history that these stories never get old)

2.     books told from multiple viewpoints (I love the layers of story this reveals)

AND

3.     books about elephants (I am in love with these emotional creatures)

An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo (author of War Horse) satisfies my craving for all three kinds of books. 

The story is initially told from the point of view of a nurse whose son comes with her to work at an assisted living facility.  Her son, Karl, bounds into the room of one of her most challenging patients.  Upon meeting Karl, the patient begins talking about an elephant that lived in her garden when she was a young girl.  The nurse dismisses her talk as the nonsensical words of fading mind.  However, Karl takes her words to heart.

Later that evening, he convinces his mother that perhaps there is truth in the patient’s words, and she begins to doubt her own skepticism.  So, the next day, when her son once again bounds into the room and the patient begins her story, the nurse and Karl both hang on her every word. 

And so did I.  And so will you, reader! 

Although her story is largely a fictional story that Morpurgo created, in the author’s note he explains the many truths on which it is based. 

During World War II, zoo animals were ordered to be destroyed in the case that bombing began to prevent the destruction that wild animals on the loose might cause when their cages were destroyed by bombs.  In a case like this (although in other setting completely), there is a story of a baby elephant that was taken home and cared for by a zookeeper.  Morpurgo put these ideas together with the story of another woman’s journey from Dresden during WWII and spun the story of An Elephant in the Garden. 

Although the animal plays an important role in the story, I think this is really a story about war and the effect it has on humans and human relationships.  It is beautifully told.  Although it is written for younger readers, there is a lot of depth to be found amongst the lines of this story. 

If you enjoy war stories, you are interested in reading about World War II, you like books with elephants, you appreciate books written from multiple perspectives, or you are human, you are sure to love this book!

Reading Threads:

As Small as an Elephant by Jennifer Jacobson

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

Elephant Run by Roland Smith