Wimpole History Festival: Miriam Halahmy - Emergency Zoo

Miriam's novel, The Emergency Zoo (Alma Books) was inspired by a newspaper article which stated that at the outbreak of WW2 the British put down 750,000 pets because they were concerned they couldn’t cope with them during the war. Her first thought was there is a novel here. What would the children do?

 

Miriam’s book covers the lead up to the war from the children's point of view as they desperately try to hide their pets in a den in the woods. In this session Miriam will talk about the background to her book; provide some fun activities with Morse Code; teach a WW2 song; read extracts from the book and take Q&A. Miriam was a teacher for 25 years and her festival sessions are always lively and fun for everyone, from child to adult.