About the Author

Sonya Hartnett is an internationally acclaimed author of many award-winning novels, including THURSDAY'S CHILD, WHAT THE BIRDS SEE, STRIPES OF THE SIDESTEP WOLD, THE SILVER DONKEY, THE GHOST's CHILD, BUTTERFLY, and the Michael L. Printz Honor Book SURRENDER. She was the winner of the 2008 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world's largest award for lifetime achievement in children's and youth literature. Sonya Hartnett lives in Australia.
Andrea Dezso is a visual artistwho works across a broad range of media including drawing, cutpaper, embroidery, sculpture, installation, animation, and large-scale murals. She is Assistant Professor of Art at Hampshire College in Amherst, MAand lives in Amherst and New York City."

Reviews

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"

"A heartbreakinf, magical story of life and liberty." - THe Bookseller
"A moving and original story witht timeless relevance." The Daily Mail (U.K.)
"Hertnett's prose weaves its magical, poignant spell." Readings (Australia) -- Quote

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 (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.