The Midnight Zoo, by Sonya Hartnett, is a great book to start off the school year. The story is a magical fable set in a zoo in the middle of a bombed-out village during the war. Two young Roma brothers on the run discover the zoo and its inhabitants - a wolf and eagle, monkey and bear, lioness and seal, kangaroo and llama, chamois and bear - as they flee the through the darkness. It is a story about war and its devastating effects, but also a story about captivity and freedom.
Here is a quote from an 8 year old book reviewer on Amazon:
I think that other kids will like this book - young and old (grown up) - because it is a very exciting book. My favourite part was when the animals start talking after the bombs drop, because it was a very exciting part, especially because Andrej thought the lion talking was his mother. I think that basically 3rd grade and up might like it - gilrs and boys would like your book!
The book's main theme of freedom speaks to both animals and people, the freedom of animals to live in the wild, not in zoos under human control, and the freedom of humans to live in peace, not in the middle of someone else's war. The book is set in World War II, but written in a way that it could be any war, any time, making it very relevant.
Each animal's story, as well as that of the children, is revealed though the night. One of the most powerful and heart-breaking tale's is the seal's, who swims in endless circles in its tiny pool.
"The shiny streak of animal was sweeping up and down the length of its pool exactly as it had been doing when the children first saw it. Its pace, which was swift, was also unaltering, nor did its ceaseless circuit veer even slightly from its invisible track...The seal seemed nothing more than a shadowy shape that had taken on a relentless life and a strange, perpetual mission..Andrej asked the bear, 'Is this all it does? Just swim back and forth?' 'What else should it do?' said the bear."
For anyone who has seen an animal in a zoo pacing endlessly, or rocking repetitively, the seal's behaviour will sound familiar. This is stereotypic behaviour, which is an abnormal repetitive behaviour that has no obvious function, such as pacing in a figure-eight pattern. The cause of these behaviours in zoo animals relates to their boredom, lack of space, frustration, and inability to perform natural behaviours.
The bear in the story continues to talk about the seal: "Of course it remembers [the ocean]. Its mind is filled with the crashing of waves. The ocean called out to it from the moment it was born. Its ancestors swam there; its kin swim there today. It remembers the ocean because its blood and bones cannot forget it. Somewhere out there, there's a gap in the water, a place which is hollow because the seal isn't there."
Sonya Hartnett, who is the winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, has written a marvelous book that captures the essence of what it means to be a wild animal, and what it means to be free.
If you are an older student, grade 4 or above, this book is a must-read. If you are a teacher, you might find the
teacher resource from Penguin Books useful. Although this is a children's book, adults will also enjoy it immensely; it explores deep themes, and is written in beautiful, lyrical prose.
