Dear Zoo: Lift the Flaps

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His friendship with Stella (aka Bird Girl) deepens and he learns of her troubled home and wants to help but is she asking too much of him? [chapter book, ages 9 and up] A trip to the zoo is such a joyous occasion, isn’t it? Our urban zoo in Boston is a little sad, so we typically go to the Roger Williams Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island, about an hour away. I grew up with this vintage picture book but it seems to be virtually unknown these days. Margaret Bloy Graham is probably better known for her beloved Harry the Dirty Dog series. Billy’s pet spider Martha is left at the zoo and suddenly all the animals are happy because she’s taken care of their insect problem. It reminds me, on a smaller scale, of the great San Diego Zoo which is about 2 1/2 hours from where I grew up and is the zoo by which I measure all zoos against. Top 10 Zoo Books for Kids Catherine of Story Snug has a wonderful suggestion. Her review is here. Supermarket Zoo by Caryl Hart

I doubt 22-month old little-AJ is thinking much about any of the above issues, but he thoroughly enjoys this book and has requested this to be read and re-read many times. Follow the zoo-keeper and gorilla through the zoo as they put the animals to bed. An adorable book that’s a must read for kids ages 1 – 3 years! I would also highly recommend this wonderful family movie (which originated from a book that’s more of a teen or adult read) — We Bought A Zoo is an amazing story (based on Benjamin Mee’s real life) of how a family came to buy a zoo. This is one of those movies that has something for everyone in the family and it helps that the kids in the movie include a young daughter and a teenage son who both add a lot of fun to daily life. If I Ran the Zoo (Classic Seuss) by Dr. Seuss is a classic zoo book! What kid wouldn’t want to imagine all the wonderful things they would do if they were asked to be in charge of the zoo for a day 🙂We are big fans of Little Critter books — the kids find them very funny. Kids will love My Trip to the Zoosince it’s all about animal noises 🙂 I love this book because it is different. I think the illustrations are terrific. They convey a mixture of emotions: funny, sad, silly, angry, gloomy. The "laughing daddy face" is very realistically "ugly" with big nostrils and round double-chin. The crouching orang-utan was full of unspoken emotions even though we couldn't see its face. The gorilla painting is purely beautiful. It would be good for guided reading from around years 3+ as it is interesting and has a good mix of words.

And for some creative fun, take along the At the Zoo Scratch & Sketch (An Art Activity Book for Animal Lovers and Artists of All Ages) (Trace-Along Scratch and Sketch) . Your kids will love to observe and scratch/sketch the animals they see on their visit. Kids who love mysteries will really enjoy The Secret Zoo. Noah & Megan live next door to the zoo and are noticing the animals’ strange behaviors — then one day, Megan disappears! It’s up to her brother and friends to solve the clues that lead them into the zoo at night to see if they can find her. Dear Zoo” was written as a lift-the-flap board book in 1982, by the Scottish author, Rod Campbell. It is his most famous work, and thirty-five years later, it is still tremendously popular among the under fives in Great Britain, and has been translated into more than a dozen different languages. However the Dear Zoo: Noisy book is well nigh perfect. It includes the fun element of flaps, teaches both the names of the animals and how to identify them. It invites questions such as: “How big is the crate?” and “What sort of animal might fit inside there?” It uses language with simple repetition, but also creatively. It has clear, attractive and humorous line drawings in bold colours.The voices of each animal, as written by Katherine Applegate, manage to convey not just their story of how they came to this urban sad zoo, but their personalities as if we could see into their souls. From board books to fiction, take a look at these fantastic zoo books for kids! Perfect for learning about animals and a visit to the zoo. It's a wonderful critique of zoos and of the way that people treat animals, the way they treat each other, the way they ignore each other and the way that society is as much a zoo (cages and all) as a zoo really is. It also happens to be full of beautiful art juxtaposed with a surreal comic art... brining that dystopia straight to the eyes. Pinkalicious and the Pinkatastic Zoo Day is another Early Reader book which will entice fans of the series to start reading on their own. See what happens when they visit the monkeys — and then have to return to the zoo the next day! Dear Zoo has a good mixture of words and pictures, with uncomplicated, simple sentences, which are perfect for teaching our little ones to read. The language is easily understandable for a child, with descriptive words that may form part of their vocabulary already. The story involves a young child writing to the zoo because they want a pet, which adds a bit of magic to the book, and will capture their imaginations long after the book is put down. Why we like Dear Zoo

Eloise Visits the Zoo (Eloise Ready-to-Read) is perfect for those early readers! Follow along as Eloise & Nanny visit some of their favorite animals and see what activities they enjoy doing at the zoo. The book is based on the story of Roy and Silo, two male Chinstrap Penguins in New York’s Central Park Zoo. Roy and Silo were observed performing behaviors typically seen in penguin couples, such as bowing to one another.

Two of my kids’ teachers told me that this was an amazing book last year so I bought it but hesitated because I was afraid it would be one of those sad, urban zoo stories. I was so wrong to wait to read this Newbery winning chapter book! I wrote to the zoo to send me a pet..." (That's a direct quote from the book) and then I'd pull out a different puppet from the box and bring it to life for a few seconds. It was fun to have the parents and talking kids chant the line over and over with me. And it was even more fun to see the children's excitement when a "live" animal came out of the box. Priceless. Another favorite mystery series — The Mystery of the Mixed-up Zoo (The Boxcar Children, No. 26) are also trying to solve an animal mystery. There seems to be a LOT of zoo-based mystery books 🙂