Alyssa

The Zookeeper's Wife

Project by: Alyssa Higham

__About the Book__ **Published:** September 17, 2007 **Setting:** In and around the Warsaw Zoo in Warsaw, Poland during the German invasion of Poland in World War II. **Situation:** Antonina Zabinski, the so-called zookeeper's wife, must keep her strength and sanity in the midst of deep struggles as her beloved zoo and family (both humans and animals) are put in danger during the Nazi's invasion of Poland.

__About the Author__
 * **Biography:** Diane Ackerman was born in Waukegan, Illinois on October 7, 1948 and moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania when she was 8 years old. She studied at Penn State and earned a B.A. in English and then went on to continue her education at Cornell University, where she recieved several more degrees in Creative Writing and Literature. Diane has been married to Paul West since 1970, and currently lives in New York with no children. She has won several awards throughout her life, including the Orion Award for her novel //The Zookeeper's Wife//.

__Non-Fiction __ __Poems __
 * Other Major Works: **
 * //A Natural History of the Senses //(1990)
 * //The Rarest of the Rare //(1995)
 * //One Hundred Names for Love : A Stroke, a Marriage, and the Language of Healing //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">(2011)
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">"Wife of Light" (1978)
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">"Animal Sense" (2000)
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">"Origami Bridges" (2002)

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Critical Reputation**: Critics have mainly called Ackerman a "breathtaking" and "groundbreaking" author, and have said that she brings "a poet's eye, a sharp intellect, and meticulous research" to her writings.

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">To find out more about Diane Ackerman, visit her website || <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 170%;"> || <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">__Characters and Conflict__
 * <span style="color: #800000; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 17.6px; height: 295px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; width: 236px;">[[image:2003983847.jpg width="212" height="265" align="left" caption="Antonina and Jan Zabinski caring for an injured bird"]] || <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 14.6px;">The two main characters in Diane Ackerman's non-fiction novel are Jan and Antonina Zabinski, with an emphasis on Antonina, the so-called zookeeper's wife. The story centers around these two who must keep their beloved Warsaw Zoo afloat in the midst of a war. After their zoo is bombed and destroyed, they are faced with the hard task of rebuilding their lives as well as the zoo and begin to use their surroundings to help others survive. With most of the animals that they once loved dead or missing, Jan and Antonina start to hide Jews in the empty cages in order to protect them from the wrath of Hitler and his army. They do this even though it brings much danger to their own lives and well-being. Antonina plays a special role in Ackerman's story, as she is the driving force behind the operation, and thus displays the strength and willpower of a young woman who is forced to piece together her life, as well as the lives of the unfortunate around her, in the midst of a war. ||

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">__Theme__ <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">In her book //The Zookeeper's Wife//, Diane Ackerman conveys the firm belief that when witnessing injustice, those that are able must do everything in their power to help the oppressed.

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">__Review__ <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">In her book //The Zookeeper's Wife//, Diane Ackerman writes a vividly detailed true story of Polish zookeepers during the time of World War II. She composes her story completely based off of diaries, interviews, artifacts, and photographs that belonged to, or were given by, Jan and Antonina Zabinski, the owners of the zoo, which allows the story to be completely authentic. Ackerman's writing is rich with imagery, information, and emotion, and appeals to animal- and history-lovers alike. It is definitely an enriching and beneficial read.

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">__Style__ <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">In //The Zookeeper's Wife//, Diane Ackerman uses vivid characterization to emphasize Antonina's connection to animals and the natural world. This helps to show how she effectively handles the chaos and terror going on around her in the human world.
 * <span style="color: #a24b4b; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 105%;">"Antonina loved to slip out of her human skin for a while and spy on the world through each animal's eyes..." (Ackerman 25).
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 105%;">This quote from the novel shows how Antonina possesses a deep connection with the world of animals and is able to identify closely with them which aids her later when she is dealing with violence and death in the human world.
 * <span style="color: #530101; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 105%;">"Antonina especially has a gift for observing animal behavior, gleaning thoughts, feelings and intentions, and even bending the creatures to her will. Her ability to move peaceably around predators lends itself well to protecting family and boarders from German soldiers" (Vitone 2).

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Ackerman also includes a light-hearted tone throughout her book in order to create a diversion from the heavy, morose story that is necessary when telling of war and destruction.
 * <span style="color: #a24b4b; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 105%;">"'Adolf has to be stopped,' one of the keepers insisted. Jan knew he didn't mean Hitler but "Adolf the Kidnapper," a nickname given to the ringleader of the rhesus monkeys..." (Ackerman 29).
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 105%;">This quote shows how cute anecdotes are used to distract from the serious issue of war.
 * <span style="color: #530101; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 105%;">"The menagerie provides both a cover and a diversion for all who lived there - not to mention comic relief for the reader, as only Ackerman can deliver" (Vitone 2).
 * <span style="color: #530101; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 105%;">"Here is a true story - of human empathy and its opposite - that is simultaneously grave and exuberant, wise and playful" (Linfield 1).

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">__Extras__ <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">For a virtual tour of the Warsaw Zoo click here <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">To check out the zoo's official website click here
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Enables you to see what the Zabinskis saw.
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">The website isn't in English, but provides great videos and pictures.

<span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">__Fun Facts__
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Currently, the zoo covers about 99 acres in downtown Warsaw, and sees 600,000 visitors annually. It is home to over 4,000 animals including more than 500 species.
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">The Zookeeper's Wife is currently in the process of being made into a movie.

<span style="color: #404040; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 101%; text-align: center;">Works Consulted <span style="color: #404040; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 90%; text-align: left;">Ackerman, Diane. //The Zookeeper's Wife//. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2007. Print.

<span style="color: #404040; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 90%; text-align: left;">Linfield, Susie. "A Natural History of Terrible Things." Rev. of //The Zookeeper's Wife//, by Diane Ackerman. //The Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News// //and Analysis.// The Washington Post Company, 16 Sept. 2007. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2007/09/13/AR2007091301895.html>.

<span style="color: #404040; display: block; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif; font-size: 90%; text-align: left;">Vitone, Elaine. "True Story of Warsaw Zoo That Harbored Jewish Refugees During WWII." Rev. of //The Zookeeper's Wife//, by Diane Ackerman. //SFGate: Home of the San Francisco Chronicle//. Hearst Communications, Inc. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/09/RVA5RNJ4L.DTL>.