Signifigance of the title

   The title 'The Zookeeper's Wife' is quite easy to explain because it's very straight forward. All through the book it explains the events The Zookeeper's Wife, Antonina goes through while Jan is away fighting in the army. I don't believe the author is trying to convey a certain aspect through the title, it is more about whats within the book. My pre and post reading opinions of the book changed after I read the book. Before I read it, I thought it would be way more focused on Antonina trying to save the Jews and other citizens from Hitler but it was mainly just her telling stories of trying to save Rys and worrying about Jan.
     All together it was a great informational book, but I did not like it as much as I thought I would.

What is the purpose for this book?

   I believe that Diane Ackerman wrote this book to express and tell the stories of people's lives that have gotten buried in history through out time. The story line of this book is about The Zookeeper's Jan and Antonina Zabinski's life journey during the time of WW2 and The Holocaust. During this time period, many smaller events had gotten buried and forgotten because of bigger events such as The Holocaust. We need to acknowledge the courageous acts of the Zabinski's and saving not only the animals but also many Jews who they hid in their closed Zoo.
     It's important to read this book to remember the cruel times not only the Jews, but all of the citizens went through during WW2 and this book really makes you grateful for the life you live. Diane goes into detail of the surroundings and bizarre content of the whole country during the attacks and how hard it is to raise her son. This makes me realize how tough it would be to raise a family and keep yourself in tact as well and makes me really hurt for everyone effected by WW2.
    We can learn from this book that no matter how hard life can be on you, you have to strive and believe you can make it through the tough times. The Zabinski's took a tragic loss of the zoo and made it into something spectacular by helping save the Jews when they couldn't save their animals and I truly believe they are extremely courageous people to help save Jews. They turned something bad into something helpful and this is overlooked in history when in reality, it is an amazing event that should be appreciated much more.



         

    

About the Author

     The Zookeeper's Wife is written by Diane Ackerman. Diane has written bundles of books over the years including some of which are about History, just like The Zookeeper's Wife. One of her books is called "A Natural History of the Senses" which is more leaning towards the history of culture. Her book explains how different people have different senses and why they work with each culture differently. Another one of Diane's pieces along the lines of History is called "A Natural History of Love" which as you can imagine, would be about love. She goes into detail about the exposure of the kiss and how it appeals people.
      Diane is an Author of handfuls of books. She is a poet, author, and naturalist. Since Diane is a Naturalist, she loves writing about things that involve the earth/mankind, hence the reason she writes so many Historical books. Ackerman has also received quite a few rewards for her pieces of work. Diane has received the Orion Book Award for The Zookeeper's Wife, John Burroughs Nature Award, Lavan Poetry Prize and countless more.
       Diane Ackerman was born in 1948, in Waukegan, IL. She has been married to her spouse since 1970, when she was just 22! Diane received her education from Cornell University in 1979 which she got her Bachelor of arts in English. Diane and her husband, Paul moved out to New York, where she then taught English at Columbia and Cornell Universities. As Diane's life went on, she became a very successful writer, poet, and naturalist.

Beautiful Passage from 'The Zookeeper's Wife'

   
June 20th, 2015 

     "Leaving the square, I strolled toward the old fortifications to visit the closest well, following a wall of sooty bricks that curves around to medieval towers with funnel-capped lookouts and narrow slits that once hid archers. In summer, the mock orange trees along this walk froth with white flowers visited by fat black-and-white magpies. Floating above the wall, the canopies of crab apple trees scramble for sun. On Rycerka (Knight) Street, I reached a small square and black pillar emblazoned with a mermaid wielding sword-- Warsaw's symbol. It's a chimera I think Antonina would have identified with: a defender half woman, half animal. On both sides of the pillar, a bearded god spills water from his mouth, and it's east to picture Antonina setting down her basket, angling a jug under a spout, and waiting as life gurgled up from the earth."   

       I decided to choose this passage because it was simply just beautifully written. This is the last paragraph of the whole book, and it really captures the moment and forms an amazing image in my head of the scenery. The way they describe the pillars and what is on them puts a image in my head of old medieval times and it shows a very gloomy environment due to World War 2.
     I've always loved the ending sentence of every book I've ever read because they always capture the moment perfectly, and this particular book gave me the chills. It ends with ".. and waiting as life gurgled up from the earth." This just captured my mind immediately after I read it because it was an extremely touching moment that I was imagining and it really left me with a clear image in my head.