The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story

Grade Level: This book recommended for students in grades middle school or orlder

Book Review

The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman is a wonderful, moving novel aboud a couple living in WWII Warsaw.  Personally, I didn't want to put the book down, it was great!

Jan and Antonina Zabinski run a zoo in the middle of Warsaw when WWII starts.  As the Warsaw ghetto takes shape, Jan and Antonina know they need to help their Jewish friends, even at great risk to themselves.  There is a large problem though....the zoo is constantly patrolled by Nazi officers and officials.  So, as a result, it is hard to keep everyone hid. The Zabinski's hide their friends in old animal cages and enclosures.  And, they refer to their guests by the animal enclosure where they are staying.  The most amazing part of this story is that it is real!  

The Zookeeper's Wife is a tale of courage.  Everything is told factually, but still written like a novel.  The book depicts the war in a real way, but it doesn't get too gruesome for young readers.   

About the Author

Diane Ackerman was born in Waukegan, Illinois. She received an M.A., M.F.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell University. Her works of nonfiction include, An Alchemy of Mind, a poetics of the brain based on the latest neuroscience; Cultivating Delight: A Natural History of My Garden; Deep Play, which considers play, creativity, and our need for transcendence; A Slender Thread, about her work as a crisisline counselor; The Rarest of the Rare and The Moon by Whale Light, in which she explores the plight and fascination of endangered animals; A Natural History of Love; On Extended Wings, her memoir of flying; and the bestseller A Natural History of the Senses.

Ms. Ackerman has received many prizes and awards, including a D. Litt. from Kenyon College, a Guggenheim Fellowship, Orion Book Award, John Burroughs Nature Award, and the Lavan Poetry Prize, as well as being honored as a Literary Lion by the New York Public Library. She also has the rare distinction of having a molecule named after her --dianeackerone. She has taught at a variety of universities, including Columbia, the University of Richmond, and Cornell. Her essays about nature and human nature have appeared in The New York Times, Smithsonian, Parade, The New Yorker, National Geographic, and many other journals, where they have been the subject of much praise. She hosted a five-hour PBS television series inspired by A Natural History of the Senses.

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