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An Elephant In The
Garden by Michael Morpurgo
What starts off as an unbelievable
statement by a seemingly senile old woman turns out to be a true and
epic tale of a family’s escape from a burning city of Dresden during
the Second World War, told to the only person that would believe
her, a young boy that reminds the old woman of her young brother
Karli.
Karl’s mother is a nurse at the home where the old woman is a
resident and at first she thinks the old woman is just telling tall
stories, but when Karl takes a liking to the old woman and she
insists on telling him the story on a particular day, Karl’s mother
decides to listen and finds out that the story has more than just a
ring of truth.
The old woman, Elizabeth was born in Germany between the world wars
and when the Second World War broke out, she was living in Dresden
with her father, mother and younger brother. Her father went away to
fight in the army, and they occasionally got letters from him, but
because he was gone along with so many other men, her mother was
forced to find work and she did, she was a curator in the zoo,
charged with looking after the elephants. Near the end of the war,
it looks more and more certain that Dresden will be bombed, so the
order is given that all the dangerous animals like tigers, lions and
elephants must be shot in case they escape the zoo.
Elizabeth’s mother has grown very fond of a baby elephant called
Marlene though and is determined to save her. Because it is so young
and not really a threat, she is allowed to take it home and look
after it at her house, but then the bombs start falling and with the
whole city on fire they look to escape. They flee to a relative’s
place, whom they were once close to but haven’t seen since they
argued with Elizabeth’s parents over Hitler. When they arrive, the
place is deserted except for a very unwelcome stranger, an Allied
airman. With the Russian army close behind and the Allied army
advancing in the direction they are heading, they are in real
danger, but the Canadian Navigator offers to help them, but his help
also puts the family in far more danger.
This story tells of the war from a different point of view, that of
an innocent German family in a city that was bombed in retaliation
for the Battle of Britain. It is the story of a family’s love for
each other and for an elephant who is like one of the family. It is
also about the changing attitudes that war can bring, the hatred it
can cause, but also about forgiveness. It is also the story of love
between Elizabeth and the enemy airman. Will it survive with danger
everywhere?
RRP $22.99
Published and distributed by HarperCollins Publishers
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Little Manfred by Michael Morpurgo
 Little Manfred is the little wooden dachshund that has been passed
on from Charlie's mum to her and then to Alex. It now sits on a
windowsill, broken, but Charlie used its name to call the family's
border collie. However Little Manfred means a lot more to their
mother than either of the children, and they don't know why, not
until one day when they are at the beach with Mannie.
The year is 1966, the day after England won the World Cup, and
Charlie is with Alex and Mannie at the beach when two strange men
come walking along. One of them has a definite German accent and
they start taking about boats and removing barbed wire. When they
hear the dog's name, they suddenly fire questions at the two
children, indicating that they have been there and to the farm where
Charlie's family live, although he has never met them. It turns out
that in 1945 their farmstead home was also a posting for German
prisoners of war, and the German man, Walter stayed there.
He tells the children not only of their mother's past when she was a
little girl but also of the war. He also explains why the toy dog is
called little Manfred.
This book is split into four parts rather than chapters and has
enough intrigue to be hard to put down. It also tells of World War
Two from a different perspective, one which I would imagine would
have been difficult to tell ten or twenty years ago. Some still
might be a bit sensitive about what Walter says about the British
Navy in particular but actually it is a balanced book, and Walter
points out that both sides were to blame. It shows the Germans in
World War Two not as enemies but people, some good people and is a
thought provoking story.
RRP $24.99
Published and distributed by HarperCollins Publishers
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Running Wild by Michael
Morpurgo
 When 10 year old Will’s Father dies in the Iraq war, his mother
surprises Will with a trip to Indonesia. She sees it as a chance for
them to put things behind them, but she doesn’t know what awaits
them and what dangers are ahead.
The first that Will knows of anything being wrong is when Oona, the
elephant he is riding along the beach begins to be spooked by
something. Then, suddenly, the elephant takes off into the jungle,
with him still on her back. It is only then, that Will sees the
Tsunami wave. With his mother almost certainly drowned and a huge
wave hitting the island, Will has nothing to cling to but the
elephant, and all this happens by the end of chapter two.
But Oona doesn’t stop running when the tsunami leaves, taking him
further into the strange jungle. He has nothing to help him but the
clothes on his back and faces a terrifying future unless Oona and
the jungle can somehow help him.
Will learns to survive, finding food and shelter under Oona’s
guidance, then later helps a group of orphaned infant orang-utans,
whose mothers have been shot by hunters.
In a way Running Wild seems to be a combination of the reported
story of the boy who survived the Boxing Day Tsunami when the
elephant he was on ran away, sensing danger and a modern take of
Kipling’s ‘The Jungle Book’. There is even a villain reminiscent of
the ones found in Ian Fleming’s books. Behind this exciting
adventure and story of friendship between a boy and animals of the
Indonesian jungle is the message of how human greed is destroying
these jungles. It is part epic adventure and part plea for
threatened environments, making it an interesting and exciting read
for children and adults alike.
RRP $22.99
Published and distributed by HarperCollins publishers
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