Dear Zoo: Lift the Flaps

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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! Zoo Zen: A Yoga Story for Kids was written by Kristen Fischer and illustrated by Susi Schaefer. This sweet yoga story follows a little girl named Lyla as she learns new yoga poses from her zoo animal friends. The illustrations are striking, and offer helpful tips for kids to try the poses.

From craft templates to scavenger hunts and everything in between. Pique your little one’s interest in zoo animals with these zoo preschool theme printables. Zoo Animals Ideas for Kids First, it’s a large (over-sized) book which allows the illustrations to be examined more carefully. Second, it allows kids to explore animals from around the world as they are shared in different ways, such as ‘at night’ and ‘underground’. Adults and older kids will enjoy all the fun animal facts shared in the appendix. Wonderful for kids ages 3 – 9 years. Something I do admire is it's comment on consumerism. It's décor resembling a bar-code and it being a commercial item. I think that that is one thing that it truly embodies and imbibes throughout. I would actually argue that this is one of the most dystopian picturebooks I have ever read and it's unsettling. This picture book often makes the Banned and Challenged book list each year. It’s based on a true zoo story:

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I still do recommend that children read this book and form their own opinion, and that adults let them and that adults discuss with them and that you all realise things aren't as bleak as they appear in this text. 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. 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! The lions, meerkats, monkeys are lethargic when Max and Mia visit the zoo with their class. When they get left behind at the zoo, they discover that something magical happens at midnight. This is Madagascar meets The Night at the Museum. [picture book, ages 4 and up] Put Me in the Zoo was written and illustrated by Robert Lopshire. This fun book follows an animal named Spot who wants to live in the zoo. But when the zoo won’t let him stay, he shows two young kids all of the fun things that he can do with his spots. This silly rhyming story is accompanied by fun over-the-top illustrations that kids will love. Picture Books

It's comment on people may seem too harsh, and on animals it is also too harsh and humanizing, critical and unjust, and though I resist it - I also ask, is it really as extreme as it's first impression? 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.

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A favorite in our house when the kids were younger was the (almost) wordless picture book Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathman. Ann of Doodles and Jots has some great recommendations: Zoo-ology, ZooZical, My Heart is Like a Zoo, and Color Zoo. Zoo-ology by Joelle Jolivet 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 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.

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. For kids who want to get up close with wild animals, I would recommend Life-Size Zoo: From Tiny Rodents to Gigantic Elephants, An Actual-Size Animal Encyclopedia with photography by Toyofumi Fukuda. What kind of pet would you like from the zoo? An elephant, a lion, a snake – or something a bit smaller, and cuddlier and playful? Lift the flaps and see what has been sent – it’s bound to be a surprise! When I "read" it, I had a box marked "From the Zoo" (as if the kids could read it) and I would just say the same line over and over again: These 20+ amazing photos show the details of many zoo animals from their eyelashes to tongues, along with posing some very interesting details about many zoo residents. Great for kids ages 3+ (really, this is a cool book even for adults!)Read Do You Know Hank the Hippo, and let your preschoolers act out the story with an adorable crocheted hippo toy. 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 Zoo is the story of a family’s trip to the Zoo. It is interesting to read about the family dynamics and I feel most children and adults can relate to the characters in the book. From the boys fighting, the Dad telling terrible jokes to the Mum being embarrassed by them all. As the story progresses you understand the underlying theme, which is actually about a role reversal with the people outside the cages being the animals. This is enforced by the use of pictures, with the children wearing monkey caps and also members of the public having animal features. The colours along the journey are fairly bright, however, there is a consistent juxtaposition between the colours on the verso -which is where the humans are repeatedly situated- and the animals in captivity on the recto. The clothes that the humans are wearing contribute to the bright colours on the verso. Some of the clothes could be perceived as a representation of the way that humans mistreat animals for our benefit. For example, some characters are wearing leopard print coats and tiger printed trousers, suggesting that zoos are not the only way in which we unnecessarily maltreat animals.