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!

It took a while for me to warm up to this book due to the author's tendency towards an overly descriptive and wordy writing style. She veered off topic several times which was distracting. It is obvious Ackerman has done extensive research. I learned a lot about the Warsaw Ghetto and underground uprising. Loved the stories of Antonina and her ways of relating to animals and people.

2.5