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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Such a lovely book to give you an insight into what I believe to be the best zoo in the country today and how it became. June tells such a heart warming story of her life filled with so much love for family and animals and the dedication of their lives towards their animals. Also a fantastic insight into war time life in the Chester area. 100% recommend for anyone who loves animals and Chester Zoo.
Our Zoo is a complete charmer of a book. It's like sitting back and letting a grandmother tell you stories about her childhood, but instead of the run-of-the-mill she quite literally grew up in a zoo - Chester Zoo, which has gone to to become one of the biggest zoo's in the UK and is world renowned.
June Mottershead tells the story of her family, the animals and the struggles they faced with charisma, especially the WWII period, and doesn't shy away from showing the hardships that affected her personally, such as her pet dog being killed by a lion or the animals that died during the war because they simply couldn't feed them. The book is ghostwritten, but I appreciated that this was readily acknowledged from the title page. The end acknowledgements shed plenty of light on how the process worked for June (recounting memories to Penelope Denning, with prompting from a wealth of newsclippings etc that she had collated over the years). I find a mid-80s first time author happily acknowledging that her book is ghostwritten far easier to stomach than those that try to hide it.
Animal stories are hard to dislike and Our Zoo has them in abundance. Even though June makes clear that her father (George, who founded the zoo and was one of the founding-fathers of the zoos-without-bars movement) treated wild animals as wild, the lines drawn in zoos were far less distinct than they are now. Which means there are adorable stories of hand-reared wild animals aplenty - you can't help but love the photographs of the chimps very happily helping to build their own enclosure. It's also, when it comes down to it, just an extremely interesting story. The Mottershead family faced a great deal of opposition and the zoo didn't become financially solvent until after WWII, more than 15 years after it opened. The everyday struggles they faced and the make-do attitude displayed by her whole family is fascinating to read about. From how animals were obtained, to what enclosures were built out of, it all sings of ingenuity and harks back to a time where such things could be done without the rules and regulations of today!
If I have any criticism, is that the story is almost to glossy. Although the bad times are acknowledged (particularly those that did affect the child June directly), they are not explored. Whether this is because June had a child's perspective on them at the time, so doesn't remember how the hardships affected her family fully, or has simply chosen to ignore them out of respect for her father's life work, is hard to tell. But it's easy to deduce that there are deeper threads to the story than those that come to the surface - such as her older sister Muriel emigrating and never returning to the zoo after the war, despite being a head keeper before it.
The book is also meant to be chronological, but some of the anecdotes escape out of the timeline and have to be reigned back in - a little confusing for the reader.
Overall though? If your idea of a lovely Sunday afternoon is having your grandmother tell you cute animal stories, Our Zoo will be the book for you! It is a companion to the recent BBC TV series, but as someone who never managed to catch the series when it was on, it can obviously be enjoyed without it.
3.5 stars
June Mottershead tells the story of her family, the animals and the struggles they faced with charisma, especially the WWII period, and doesn't shy away from showing the hardships that affected her personally, such as her pet dog being killed by a lion or the animals that died during the war because they simply couldn't feed them. The book is ghostwritten, but I appreciated that this was readily acknowledged from the title page. The end acknowledgements shed plenty of light on how the process worked for June (recounting memories to Penelope Denning, with prompting from a wealth of newsclippings etc that she had collated over the years). I find a mid-80s first time author happily acknowledging that her book is ghostwritten far easier to stomach than those that try to hide it.
Animal stories are hard to dislike and Our Zoo has them in abundance. Even though June makes clear that her father (George, who founded the zoo and was one of the founding-fathers of the zoos-without-bars movement) treated wild animals as wild, the lines drawn in zoos were far less distinct than they are now. Which means there are adorable stories of hand-reared wild animals aplenty - you can't help but love the photographs of the chimps very happily helping to build their own enclosure. It's also, when it comes down to it, just an extremely interesting story. The Mottershead family faced a great deal of opposition and the zoo didn't become financially solvent until after WWII, more than 15 years after it opened. The everyday struggles they faced and the make-do attitude displayed by her whole family is fascinating to read about. From how animals were obtained, to what enclosures were built out of, it all sings of ingenuity and harks back to a time where such things could be done without the rules and regulations of today!
If I have any criticism, is that the story is almost to glossy. Although the bad times are acknowledged (particularly those that did affect the child June directly), they are not explored. Whether this is because June had a child's perspective on them at the time, so doesn't remember how the hardships affected her family fully, or has simply chosen to ignore them out of respect for her father's life work, is hard to tell. But it's easy to deduce that there are deeper threads to the story than those that come to the surface - such as her older sister Muriel emigrating and never returning to the zoo after the war, despite being a head keeper before it.
The book is also meant to be chronological, but some of the anecdotes escape out of the timeline and have to be reigned back in - a little confusing for the reader.
Overall though? If your idea of a lovely Sunday afternoon is having your grandmother tell you cute animal stories, Our Zoo will be the book for you! It is a companion to the recent BBC TV series, but as someone who never managed to catch the series when it was on, it can obviously be enjoyed without it.
3.5 stars
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Watched the tv show, and just couldn’t read anymore than 19% of this unfortunately.
Review: Our Zoo by June Mottershead
Publication date: 9th October 2014
Publisher: Headline
ISBN: 9781472226358
Source: Publisher, via bobookbridgr/netgalley
Marks: 4½/5
Synopsis:
A wonderfully nostalgic memoir detailing the fascinating lives of the working class family behind the phenomenally successful Chester Zoo.When George Mottershead moved to the village of Upton-by-Chester in 1930 to realise his dream of opening a zoo without bars, his four-year-old daughter June had no idea how extraordinary her life would become. Soon her best friend was a chimpanzee called Mary, lion cubs and parrots were vying for her attention in the kitchen, and finding a bear tucked up in bed was no more unusual than talking to a tapir about granny's lemon curd. Pelican, penguin or polar bear - for June, they were simply family.The early years were not without their obstacles for the Mottersheads. They were shunned by the local community, bankruptcy threatened and then World War Two began. Nightly bombing raids turned the dream into a nightmare and finding food for the animals became a constant challenge. Yet George's resilience, resourcefulness and tenacity eventually paid off. Now over 80 years since June first set foot in the echoing house, Chester Zoo has achieved worldwide renown.Here, in her enthralling memoir, June Mottershead chronicles the heartbreak, the humour, the trials and triumphs, above all the characters, both human and animal, who shaped her childhood.
My review:
I was so looking forward to reading this account of how Chester Zoo began, as an animal lover, I'd been enthralled by the TV series of the same name. The book is a little different to the series, which was adapted for TV audiences, but this original account by the youngest Mottershead is equally enchanting.
This memoir focuses very much on the animals and how the grounds of Oakfield were turned into the first zoo without bars, which I found fascinating. The attention to detail is fantastic, the recount captivating.
My only criticism is that I didn't really like so much focus on the war details, which I'm afraid I found a little boring. Obviously the war had a great impact on the zoo so I totally understand it's inclusion; I just prefer reading about the animals.
Publication date: 9th October 2014
Publisher: Headline
ISBN: 9781472226358
Source: Publisher, via bobookbridgr/netgalley
Marks: 4½/5
Synopsis:
A wonderfully nostalgic memoir detailing the fascinating lives of the working class family behind the phenomenally successful Chester Zoo.When George Mottershead moved to the village of Upton-by-Chester in 1930 to realise his dream of opening a zoo without bars, his four-year-old daughter June had no idea how extraordinary her life would become. Soon her best friend was a chimpanzee called Mary, lion cubs and parrots were vying for her attention in the kitchen, and finding a bear tucked up in bed was no more unusual than talking to a tapir about granny's lemon curd. Pelican, penguin or polar bear - for June, they were simply family.The early years were not without their obstacles for the Mottersheads. They were shunned by the local community, bankruptcy threatened and then World War Two began. Nightly bombing raids turned the dream into a nightmare and finding food for the animals became a constant challenge. Yet George's resilience, resourcefulness and tenacity eventually paid off. Now over 80 years since June first set foot in the echoing house, Chester Zoo has achieved worldwide renown.Here, in her enthralling memoir, June Mottershead chronicles the heartbreak, the humour, the trials and triumphs, above all the characters, both human and animal, who shaped her childhood.
My review:
I was so looking forward to reading this account of how Chester Zoo began, as an animal lover, I'd been enthralled by the TV series of the same name. The book is a little different to the series, which was adapted for TV audiences, but this original account by the youngest Mottershead is equally enchanting.
This memoir focuses very much on the animals and how the grounds of Oakfield were turned into the first zoo without bars, which I found fascinating. The attention to detail is fantastic, the recount captivating.
My only criticism is that I didn't really like so much focus on the war details, which I'm afraid I found a little boring. Obviously the war had a great impact on the zoo so I totally understand it's inclusion; I just prefer reading about the animals.
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
If you want a light, easy read then this is the book for you. It is a memoir from June Mottershead about her life in Chester Zoo which was founded by her father, told from the opening of the zoo, right through the second world war, and slightly beyond that. It is an absolutely lovely book, perfect for cosying up with on these cold nights we've been having.
The writing has a very conversational tone, which I absolutely adore, it was like sitting down with a friend and having a chat. The anecdotes she shares are quite short, so the book is very fast paced, this is definitely a good thing, it means you can dip in and out of the book as you please.
The stories shared are absolutely charming, and have the ability to make you laugh (the bear just tottering into the house, anyone?) but also bring you close to tears. The wonderful thing about this book though, is that although there are terribly sad parts they are very quickly remedied with a laugh shortly after, I think that's very important.
Overall, I have to say that I fell in love with this book, it was lovely to relax with in a hot bath which in my humble opinion is the best way to enjoy a book.
I rated this book 5 stars on Goodreads.
This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review, my views are not affected by the author or publishers.
Original review posted: http://thereadingwonderland.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/review-our-zoo-by-june-mottershead.html
The writing has a very conversational tone, which I absolutely adore, it was like sitting down with a friend and having a chat. The anecdotes she shares are quite short, so the book is very fast paced, this is definitely a good thing, it means you can dip in and out of the book as you please.
The stories shared are absolutely charming, and have the ability to make you laugh (the bear just tottering into the house, anyone?) but also bring you close to tears. The wonderful thing about this book though, is that although there are terribly sad parts they are very quickly remedied with a laugh shortly after, I think that's very important.
Overall, I have to say that I fell in love with this book, it was lovely to relax with in a hot bath which in my humble opinion is the best way to enjoy a book.
I rated this book 5 stars on Goodreads.
This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review, my views are not affected by the author or publishers.
Original review posted: http://thereadingwonderland.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/review-our-zoo-by-june-mottershead.html
Read for an honest review for netgallery
I have to say the tv show sparked my interest in wanting to read this book and I'm glad it did.
This book was lovely, it wasn't an autobiography and it wasn't a novel i would class it as somewhere in between. It gives you a view of how things were for her as she was growing up, a true account rather than the tv series. You get to know the family and the workers of the zoo on an in depth level. It provides in depth descriptions about the war and the troubles that the zoo faced around this time, but also about the zoos troubles in general.
The only criticism i have is that there are some parts where it jumps back and forward which does make it hard to keep up but this can be over looked because of how good it is.
Its worth a read, there were parts that made me giggle but there were also more serious parts which make you stop and think.
I have to say the tv show sparked my interest in wanting to read this book and I'm glad it did.
This book was lovely, it wasn't an autobiography and it wasn't a novel i would class it as somewhere in between. It gives you a view of how things were for her as she was growing up, a true account rather than the tv series. You get to know the family and the workers of the zoo on an in depth level. It provides in depth descriptions about the war and the troubles that the zoo faced around this time, but also about the zoos troubles in general.
The only criticism i have is that there are some parts where it jumps back and forward which does make it hard to keep up but this can be over looked because of how good it is.
Its worth a read, there were parts that made me giggle but there were also more serious parts which make you stop and think.