The Zoo Keepers Wife

Diane Ackerman is an acclaimed author and poet. She has written over twenty books one of them being a New York Times bestseller The Zoo Keepers Wife. Within the back of the book, Ackerman credited her sources of the story line of the book which is mostly based off of Antonina’s diary entries. In between pages 192 and 193, she includes pictures of the family and their animals. There is also a detail section in the back of the book were she adds in information and facts based on specific sections like a footnote. In the last chapter of the book, Ackerman goes to the zoo in which this book is based off of. This shows her methodical research and dedication to complete this novel. The Zoo Keepers Wife is about a zoo and a couple who runs it during WWII in Warsaw, Poland. The story begins in the summer of 1935 with the introduction of the zoo keeper, Jan and his wife, Antonina. Jan and Antonina take it upon themselves to help Jewish who are forcible placed in a nearby ghetto escape Jewish persecution during WWII. They disguised the escapees as zoo employees and hid them in empty cages and animal habitats. They risked their lives and their animals lives by harboring Jews for almost ten years. Jan was the methodical planner while Antonina was seemingly the face and front line of the …show more content…
It is a perspective of a non-jewish, polish family during the war. Both The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and Sarah’s Key are written in/about the perspective of Jewish characters. I think this book is better for young adults as a lot of historical detail is embedded throughout the book and isn’t throw at the reader. This can be a very effective book for teaching purposes as it is also a movie. This novel like the others written in this time period, traps the readers in and has great