carbonspoof

A snowy day in February and a young visitor named Karl remind nursing home resident Lizzie (once known as Elizabeth) of another snowy day in February 1945, when an elephant came to live in the garden of her home in Dresden, Germany. While Karl is instantly fascinated, his mother (who is Lizzie’s nurse) dismisses the idea as an old woman’s rambling. But once Lizzie begins her seemingly unbelievable story, Karl and his mother—and readers—can’t help but be drawn into the tale of survival told in An Elephant in the Garden, which is loosely based on a real event from World War II.