Listening on audiobook. I felt this helped me understand with the foreign names, words, and locations. I can always get excited about a WWII story but this one had biological history and information that I never knew. Not only did it tell Antonina’s story, it also told the story of animals, officers, and Warsaw through the 40’s.

The whole premise behind this biographical work is fascinating: what does the wife of a zookeeper do during a war when the animals are gone and her family lives in occupied territory?
I had never given any thought to the idea of zoos during wartime. Perhaps I wanted to believe that animals somehow get special dispensation and bombs don't shatter their habitats; that they're kept safe and are cared-for even when humans are dying? Ok, I doubt I thought that, but that's only because I have never thought about it at all.
There is no way this story could not be depressing - it's about World War II and it takes place in Warsaw. I really do hate any material about most any war. However, there are always the stories of courage, of hope, of the human spirit that burn the brightest when taken in the context of such extreme suffering. This, of course, is one of those stories.
I love that Antonina had a way with animals. I love the pictures of her holding the badger. I love that she passed her love of animals and of humans onto her son. I love that she and her husband worked in tandem to save lives and grow a family with such tenacity. I love that they had a network of similar-minded people doing the same thing. Mostly, though, I love that she and her family survived the war.
I'm thankful Ms. Ackerman was intrigued enough to follow and then tell the Jabinski's story.

from Nancy A
Now I want to learn all about the Warsaw Uprising. I'm captivated by the ingenuity of the Polish Underground. When I think of the Warsaw Uprising, however, all I can see is the face of Ross from Friends. Whose fault is that? Steven Spielberg?

loved it

I really enjoyed reading this book.

I like it how it gives insight into the events of the Second World War. The stories and what the people did to help the Jews. I haven't watched the movie, but reading this book gave me a lot to think about.

Definitely a good read.

Very (overly?) detailed, but reveals aspect of WWII I was not aware of, as well as an interesting naturalist history. Made me research the 3 different species of zebras.

Honestly this book disappointed me. I don’t feel like I walked away knowing a lot about their story like I feel you should be with a book like this. The author spends more of the book going off on random tangents than she does focusing on the way Antonina and Jan helped people during the war. It would legitimately be more useful to just read a few articles online if you actually want to know what happened lol

The story in and of itself was fascinating. I also appreciate the author’s research. I felt that the compilation of this research was lacking flow and that the writing style was not consistent.

Antonina Zabinski and her husband, Jan, ran the Warsaw Zoo during WWII. I learned a lot about how WWII affected Poland - the country was occupied for 6 years, and there was a great deal of suffering, especially by the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto. The Zabinskis became very active in the Underground resistance movement and ended up helping over 300 people escape - sheltering them in their home and the zoo. The author, a poet and naturalist (best known for the book The Natural History of the Senses), has a very descriptive writing style. She writes evocatively, especially about nature and the animals in the book. At first this style put me off a bit, but I soon got involved in the story. The book has a lot to offer - the history of the period, fascinating details about animals (the family made pets of a badger, pig, arctic hare, in addition to many other creatures that freely roamed their home), interesting characters within a wonderful community, and vivid descriptions of nature. It's not your typical WWII or Holocaust story.

This was another of my WWII books. I knew nothing about the role that the Warsaw Zoo played in saving Jews from the ghetto.

It was interesting to learn of the main character's lives and roles during the war. Sad, but interesting.

The author writes well and has obviously well-researched the material. The book started slow, but was a good read!