The Midnight Zoo

by Sonya Hartnett, Richard Aspel (Read by)

Overview

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, chamois and boar—have stories to share and a mission to reclaim their lives.

Master storyteller Sonya Hartnett has crafted a magical and moving fable about war and redemption…and what it means to be free.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781489087232
Publisher:	Bolinda Audio
Publication date:	12/01/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 6.75(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	11 - 14 Years

About the Author

Sonya Hartnett is the winner of the 2008 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world's largest award for lifetime achievement in children's and youth literature. Her novels with Candlewick include Thursday's Child, What the Birds See, Stripes of the Sidestep Wolf, The Silver Donkey, The Ghost's Child, and Surrender, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book. She lives in Australia.

Richard Aspel is a talented narrator of children’s and adult audiobooks. He trained and worked in London, before returning to Australia where he has worked extensively in television, theatre and radio. His television credits include Neighbours and Carson’s Law, and he provided various voices for The Silver Brumby animated series. Richard was nominated for the prestigious Audie Award (US) for his narration of The Mark of the Angel by Nancy Huston.

Editorial Reviews

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.)

Publishers Weekly

This somber yet not hopeless fable set during WWII offers a haunting portrait of families, human and otherwise, torn apart...Lindgren Award-winner Hartnett 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.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

This beautiful and sad book will stay with readers long after the story is done.
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

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

Library Journal - Library Journal Audio

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

School Library Journal - Audio

Two gypsy children who are trying to outrun a war find themselves seeking sanctuary in an abandoned zoo in a city that has been destroyed in battle. Richard Aspel captures the fear and uncertainty of the children on their own while not allowing these emotions to detract from the magical aspects of the story. And when the animals in the zoo begin talking to the children, Aspel’s talent especially shines, his versatile voice capturing the personality of each animal, particularly the strong, proud lioness. He brings them to life in his deep, slightly gravelly voice as they tell their stories. Their unique pitches and accents allow the listener to immediately identify each character, even as the lines of reality begin to blur. E.N. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2010 - AudioFile