We Bought a Zoo

The Amazing True Story of a Broken-Down Zoo, and the 200 Animals That Changed a Family Forever

By: Benjamin Mee

Narrated by: Gildart Jackson

Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

A film tie-in edition to 20th Century Fox’s film adaptation of the heartwarming international best seller starring Scarlett Johansson and Matt Damon and directed by Oscar-winning director Cameron Crowe. An amazing true story that has inspired the major Hollywood motion picture this Christmas, to be repackaged for release alongside the film.

We Bought a Zoo is about one young family, a broken down zoo, and the wild animals that changed their lives forever. When Ben [played by Damon] and his wife Katherine [played by Johansson] sold their small flat in Primrose Hill, upped sticks with their children, and invested their savings into a dilapidated zoo on the edge of Dartmoor, they were prepared for a challenge and a momentous change in all their lives. With over 200 exotic animals to care for - including an African lion, a wolf pack, a Brazilian tapir, and a jaguar - Ben’s hands, and those of his wife, children, and tiny team of keepers, were full.

What they weren’t prepared for was Katherine’s devastating second brain cancer diagnosis. Ben found himself juggling the daunting responsibilities of managing the park’s staff and finances, while holding the bailiffs at bay and caring for his wife.

A moving and entertaining story of courage and a family’s attempts to rebuild a zoo, and carry on after Katherine’s tragic death.

©2011 Banjamin Mee (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"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." ( Daily Mail)

" We Bought a Zoo by Mee is a genuinely heartwarming true story of triumph over devastating events." ( The Belfast Telegraph)

"An engaging tale from someone who dared to do something different.” ( Shortlist)