Reading Level: Adult
Number of pages: 363
Publisher: W W Norton and company paperback 2007
After their zoo was bombed, Polish zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski managed to save over three hundred people from the Nazis by hiding them in animal cages and other buildings in the Warsaw Zoo during WWII. This is a true story, exuberant and absorbing. By the end of the book I felt that Antonina was someone I would love as a friend and I was so inspired by her efforts to keep a home and normal atmosphere for her children during the atrocities of war. She had a gift for nurturing animals in her role as the zookeeper's wife. Those gifts were magnified as she was thrust into the role of caretaker of hundreds of human souls who took refuge in the home she created, depending on her for survival. The author, a naturalist, beautifully weaves details into the story that capture all the senses and breathe life into the retelling. This book is poignant, and beautifully written. The author reminded me of a modern Gene Stratton Porter. (That is high praise coming from me) This will be on my reread list for years to come.
I picked up this book by recomendation by my mother and devoured it. The story is moving and well written. It is obvious there is a connection between the author and the subject. They both share a love of nature and living things. It is a fresh look at a much written about time in our history. I whole heartedly second the recomendation!
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