Little Karl often went to work with his mom at the nursing home, to play with friends and to socialize with the residents. One day, he ended up in the room of a resident named Lizzie. She was notorious for trying to convince people of her pet elephant in the garden, but nobody believed her… Until she met Karl. Lizzie spoke with Karl and his mom, and relayed the whole story the best that she could. As she spoke, the vivid detail and brightness in her face and voice revealed the authenticity of her memory.
It was Lizzie's 16th birthday when she first saw Marlene, the recently orphaned Elephant. In Dresden Germany during World War II, Lizzie's Mother, Mutti, was a zookeeper at the local zoo. Due to the consistent bombing nearby, the zoo had decided to euthanize all the animals to prevent a possible mass escape during an invasion. Mutti convinced the zoo to let her keep Marlene safe at home during the night, always keeping an eye on her. Marlene had such a close bond with the family, and her uplifting spirit was believed to have saved the livelihood of her family during this hard time. While a bombing run destroyed the town overnight, Marlene helped the family escape to safety with the Americans. Read this exciting book, based on a true event, for yourself to learn of the important story that Lizzie had to tell. 224 pgs, pb. Note: There were a couple of curse words said by soldiers in the story.