A brilliantly told magical story that questions what it means to be free. World War II, Eastern Europe: Tomas and his younger brother, Andrej, have fled their Romany encampment which has been besieged by the Germans; they carry Wilma, their baby sister, in a sack. In an abandoned, bombed-out town, the children discover a zoo. In it are a wolf and an eagle, a monkey, bear, lioness, seal, chamois and llama. The animals tell their stories to the children as they try to begin to understand what has become of their lives and, when they try to figure out a way to release the animals, what it means to be free.

 

This book has been graded for interest at 12+ years.

There are 208 pages in this book. This book was published 2010 by Walker Books Ltd .

Sonya Hartnett is the author of the award-winning Thursday's Child, The Silver Donkey, What the Birds See, Stripes of the Sidestep Wolf and Surrender. She lives in Australia.