An Elephant in the Garden: Part One

by Michael Morpurgo
In the midst of WWII, Lizzie, Karli, and their mother are forced to flee their home to escape the bombings. But theirs is an extraordinary trek to safety because of their two traveling companions: Marlene, an orphaned elephant, and Peter, a Canadian navigator whose plane was shot down over enemy territory.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four
15 words 115 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. toboggan
    a long narrow sled without runners
    They didn’t have a toboggan between them. They simply brought along anything that would slide—plastic sacks, surfboards, even a rubber ring.
  2. cantankerous
    having a difficult and contrary disposition
    She had been in the nursing home for nearly a month, so we had gotten to know one another’s little ways quite well already. She could be a little prickly, and even cantankerous with the other nurses sometimes.
  3. vulnerable
    capable of being wounded or hurt
    And that’s certainly what she looked like when I first saw her, so shriveled and weak and vulnerable, her skin pale and paper-thin over her cheekbones, her hair creamy white against the pillows.
  4. spirited
    displaying animation, vigor, or liveliness
    Yet even then I could see there was something very unusual, very spirited about her—the steely look in her eye, the sudden smile that lit up her whole face.
  5. meticulous
    marked by extreme care in treatment of details
    I did as she asked, and she thanked me—her manners were always meticulous.
  6. wry
    humorously sarcastic or mocking
    I think my wry smile must have betrayed me.
  7. mockery
    showing your contempt by derision
    It was not only the mockery in their faces and the cruelty of their words that I hated so much, it was the injustice.
  8. injustice
    the practice of being unfair
    Anyway, I always recognized injustice when I saw it, and I felt it deeply.
  9. political
    involving or characteristic of governing or social power
    At home, Papi did not like us to talk about any of this, about anything political—he was very strict about that.
  10. pacifist
    someone opposed to violence as a means of settling disputes
    Mutti told her in no uncertain terms that she was proud to be a pacifist, that she would be a pacifist till the day she died.
  11. uncanny
    surpassing the ordinary or normal
    “The likeness between you is—how is it you say it?—uncanny.”
  12. mantelpiece
    a shelf that projects from a wall above a fireplace
    Then she would put the letter up with all the others on the mantelpiece, behind the photo of Papi in his uniform. The mantelpiece became like an altar to his memory.
  13. dejected
    affected or marked by low spirits
    Mutti had taken Karli and me with her into the zoo to see Marlene many times. It was true, she did seem sad and dejected.
  14. inquisitive
    showing curiosity
    They were so alike, those two—Marlene and Karli, I mean. Naughty, inquisitive, funny.
  15. drone
    an unchanging intonation
    On the way to school with Karli that day, I heard the sudden throbbing drone of planes overhead.
Created on Sat Jan 24 19:42:36 EST 2026 (updated Tue Mar 10 14:44:02 EDT 2026)

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