We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Change Their Lives Forever (Playaway Adult Nonfiction)

Mee, Benjamin

ISBN 10: 1441789375 ISBN 13: 9781441789372

Publisher: Findaway World, 2011

Synopsis

The remarkable true story of a family who move into a rundown zoo-already a BBC documentary miniseries and excerpted in The Guardian. In the market for a house and an adventure, Benjamin Mee moved his family to an unlikely new home: a dilapidated zoo in the English countryside. Mee had a dream to refurbish the zoo and run it as a family business. His friends and colleagues thought he was crazy. But in 2006, Mee and his wife with their two children, his brother, and his 76-year-old mother moved into the Dartmoor Wildlife Park. Their extended family now included: Solomon, an African lion and scourge of the local golf course; Zak, the rickety Alpha wolf, a broadly benevolent dictator clinging to power; Ronnie, a Brazilian tapir, easily capable of killing a man, but hopelessly soppy; and Sovereign, a jaguar and would-be ninja, who has devised a long term escape plan and implemented it. Nothing was easy, given the family's lack of experience as zookeepers, and what follows is a magical exploration of the mysteries of the animal kingdom, the power of family, and the triumph of hope over tragedy. We Bought a Zoo is a profoundly moving portrait of an unforgettable family living in the most extraordinary circumstances.

About this title

Review:

DAILY MAIL
“Mee writes most movingly about his wife’s fatal illness, his children coming to terms with this, his sprightly old mum and, of course, his 200 wild animals in all their diverse glory.”

THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH
“We Bought a Zoo by Mee is a genuinely heartwarming true story of triumph over devastating events.”

SHORTLIST
“An engaging tale from someone who dared to do something different.”

THE WESTERN DAILY PRESS
‘’One of the most inspiring books I’ve read.”

INTERNATIONAL ZOO NEWS
“Hard to put down.”

ABERDEEN PRESS & JOURNAL
****
“Most people who spotted the advert appealing for new owners for an ailing zoo would not even have considered the possibility. Much more likely, they would have dismissed the idea out of hand. But one adventurous family saw a challenge and were prepared to meet it head on.”

Review:

Mee writes movingly about his wife's fatal illness, his children coming to terms with this, his sprightly old mum and, of course, his 200 wild animals in all their diverse glory

About this edition

• Publisher: Findaway World
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1441789375
• ISBN 13: 9781441789372
• Binding: Preloaded Digital Audio Player