The Midnight Zoo

The Midnight Zoo

Author	Sonya Hartnett
Illustrator	Andrea Offermann
Country	Australia
Language	English
Genre	Juvenile fantasy
Publisher	Walker & Company, Candlewick Press
Publication date	1 November 2010 (2010-11-01)
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback)
Pages	186
Awards	Carnegie Medal (shortlisted)
ISBN	9781406331493
OCLC	692664057
Dewey Decimal	A823.3
LC Class	PR9619.3.H3345 M53 2010

The Midnight Zoo is a 2010 novel by Sonya Hartnett. It was first published on 1 November 2010 in Australia and was then released in the United States a year later. It follows the story of two gypsy boys that find an abandoned zoo after leaving their destroyed village. The novella has gained critical praise for its "lyrical" prose and for the illustrations in the United States version, done by artist Andrea Offermann.

Plot

Taking place in World War II, two Roma boys named Andrej and Tomas have escaped their community after it has been destroyed by the Nazis. They come across an abandoned zoo filled with anthropomorphic animals. Over one night, each of the animals tells how they ended up at the zoo. The animals all want to escape but are scared of what lies beyond the zoo.

Critical reception

The Midnight Zoo received positive reviews from critics, mostly for the "lyrical" prose and the illustrations from Andrea Offermann in the American version. Kirkus Reviews called it "[a]n evocative story" with "lyrical, spare prose".^[1] Booklist was similarly favorable, but it said that the ending "may confuse some readers".^[2] A reviewer for the Daily Mail called it a "powerful and sensitively handled fable about war, freedom, and loss", and praised the author's writing and use of anthropomorphism.^[3] Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review and said that Harnett "mak[es] a profound case for the futility of war while exploring questions about responsibility and freedom."^[4] Library Journal also gave it a starred review, saying that it was also good for adults who were "interested in wartime fiction and thought-provoking, fable-like tales",^[5] while its juvenile companion School Library Journal called it a "beautiful and sad book [that] will stay with readers long after the story is done."^[6]

Awards and nominations

The Midnight Zoo won the CBCA Children's Book of the Year Award for Older Readers in 2011.^[7] It was also shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal in 2012.^[8]

References

↑ "Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett, Andre Offermann". Kirkus Reviews. 5 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
↑ Dean, Kara (August 2011). "Midnight Zoo, by Sonya Hartnett". Booklist. Retrieved 29 July 2013. (subscription required (help)).
↑ Morris, Sally (November 12, 2010). "Children's Books". Daily Mail. Retrieved July 25, 2013. (subscription required (help)).
↑ "Children's Review: The Midnight Zoo". Publishers Weekly. 8 August 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
↑ Selwyn, Laurie (1 November 2010). "The Midnight Zoo". Library Journal. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
↑ Tesauro, Caroline (1 September 2011). "The Midnight Zoo". School Library Journal. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
↑ "There's more to the story". The Age. 20 August 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
↑ Knight, Gavin (Summer 2012). "Literacy Standards". NATE Classroom. 17: 67+. (subscription required (help)).

Works by Sonya Hartnett

Picture books	The Boy and the Toy (2010) Come Down, Cat! (2011)

Junior fiction	Sadie and Ratz (2008) The Children of the King (2012)

Teen and young adult fiction	Wilful Blue (1994) Sleeping Dogs (1995) The Devil Latch (1996) Princes (1997) All My Dangerous Friends (1998) Stripes of the Sidestep Wolf (1999) Thursday's Child (2000) Forest (2001) The Silver Donkey (2004) Surrender (2005) The Ghost's Child (2007) Butterfly (2009) The Midnight Zoo (2010)

Adult fiction	Trouble All The Way (1984) Sparkle and Nightflower (1986) The Glass House (1990) Black Foxes (1996) Of a Boy (2002) Landscape with Animals (2006) Golden Boys (2014)

Children's Book of the Year Award for Older Readers

1946–1949	The Story of Karrawingi the Emu by Leslie Rees (1946) Shackleton's Argonauts: A Saga of the Antarctic Icepacks by Frank Hurley (1948)

1950–1959	Whalers of the Midnight Sun by Alan Villiers (1950) Verity of Sydney Town by Ruth C. Williams (1951) The Australia Book by Eve Pownall (1952) Aircraft of Today and Tomorrow by James H. Martin & W. D. Martin (1953) Good Luck to the Rider by Joan Phipson (1953) Australian Legendary Tales by K. Langloh Parker (1954) The First Walkabout by Norman B. Tindale and Harold Arthur Lindsay (1955) The Crooked Snake by Patricia Wrightson (1956) The Boomerang Book of Legendary Tales edited by Enid Moodie Heddle (1957) Tiger in the Bush by Nan Chauncy (1958) Devil's Hill by Nan Chauncy (1959) Sea Menace by John Gunn (1959)

1960–1969	All the Proud Tribesmen by Kylie Tennant (1960) Tangara by Nan Chauncy (1961) The Racketty Street Gang by L. H. Evers (1962) Rafferty Rides a Winner by Joan Woodberry (1962) The Family Conspiracy by Joan Phipson (1963) The Green Laurel by Eleanor Spence (1964) Pastures of the Blue Crane by H. F. Brinsmead (1965) Ash Road by Ivan Southall (1966) The Min-Min by Mavis Thorpe Clark (1967) To the Wild Sky by Ivan Southall (1968) When Jays Fly to Barbmo by Margaret Balderson (1969)

1970–1979	Uhu by Annette Macarthur-Onslow (1970) Bread and Honey by Ivan Southall (1971) Longtime Passing by H. F. Brinsmead (1972) Family at the Lookout by Noreen Shelley (1973) The Nargun and the Stars by Patricia Wrightson (1974) Fly West by Ivan Southall (1976) The October Child by Eleanor Spence (1977) The Ice is Coming by Patricia Wrightson (1978) The Plum-Rain Scroll by Ruth Manly (1979)

1980–1989	Displaced Person by Lee Harding (1980) Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park (1981) The Valley Between by Colin Thiele (1982) Master of the Grove by Victor Kelleher (1983) A Little Fear by Patricia Wrightson (1984) The True Story of Lilli Stubeck by James Aldridge (1985) The Green Wind by Thurley Fowler (1986) All We Know by Simon French (1987) So Much to Tell You by John Marsden (1988) Beyond the Labyrinth by Gillian Rubinstein (1989)

1990–1999	Came Back to Show You I Could Fly by Robin Klein (1990) Strange Objects by Gary Crew (1991) The House Guest by Eleanor Nilsson (1992) Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta (1993) The Gathering by Isobelle Carmody (1994) Angel's Gate by Gary Crew (1995) Foxspell by Gillian Rubinstein (1995) Pagan's Vows by Catherine Jinks (1996) A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove by James Moloney (1997) Eye to Eye by Catherine Jinks (1998) Deadly, Unna? by Phillip Gwynne (1999)

2000–2009	48 Shades of Brown by Nick Earls (2000) Wolf on the Fold by Judith Clarke (2001) Forest by Sonya Hartnett (2002) The Messenger by Markus Zusak (2003) Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta (2004) The Running Man by Michael Gerard Bauer (2005) The Story of Tom Brennan by J. C. Burke (2006) Red Spikes by Margo Lanagan (2007) The Ghost's Child by Sonya Hartnett (2008) Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan (2009)

2010–present	Jarvis 24 by David Metzenthen (2010) The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett (2011) The Dead I Know by Scot Gardner (2012) Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan (2013) Wildlife by Fiona Wood (2014) The Protected by Claire Zorn (2015)

Picture Book (1955–present) Early Childhood (2001–present) Younger Readers (1982–present) Eve Pownall Award for Information Books (1988–present)

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