The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett

The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett

When the Germans attack their Romany encampment during World War I, Andrej and his younger brother, Tomas, flee through a ravaged countryside under cover of darkness, guarding a secret bundle. Their journey leads to a bombed-out town, where the boys discover a hidden wonder: a zoo filled with creatures in need of hope. Like Andrej and Tomas, the animals wolf and eagle, monkey and bear, lioness and seal, kangaroo and llama, chamois and boar have stories to share and a mission to reclaim their lives.

Master storyteller Sonya Hartnett has crafted a magical and moving fable about war and redemption and what it means to be free.

Sonya Hartnett is the author of THURSDAY'S CHILD and several other critically praised novels, the first of which she wrote at the age of thirteen, and has won numerous prizes in her native Australia. The Metford youngsters are based on three children who went missing in Australia in the late 1960s and were never discovered, she says of WHAT THE BIRDS SAW. The kidnapping of a child is a sensitive subject, and I didn't want to use someone else's misfortune for my personal gain, so I put the crime in the background of the story. Adrian is a lot like myself, and a lot of the things that happen to him happen to me as well.