Book Description

Reviews (5)

Disfunctional family at the zoo
This is not your average story of a family going to the zoo. Dad is a boor in "one of his moods" and mom is a passive enabler. The animals are kept in small, shabby cages and are nearly as miserable as the human visitors.

This is all very realistic, I suppose, but is it appropriate for a childrens' book? This review thinks not. I'll take my literary zoos idealized and happy, thank you very much.

This is the worst children¿s book I have read in a long time
The wonderful illustrations are what attracted me to the book at my local library. The characters however, are far from wonderful. What could have been a fun story about a family's trip to the zoo, was instead a story about a miserable family who could not get along. As a mother you are looking for positive stories to read to your children. This story did not provide anything positive. I was embarrassed to read this book to my child. Neither one of us enjoyed it at all. I would not recommend any books by Anthony Browne for families. Most of which I feel are very negative, and should not be marketed to children.

This is one of the best book i have ever read
This book is very good. This book may not be educational but it is very, very, VERY funny. I love this book and I first heard it at a very young age. I don't get how someone can't like this. This book may not have good role models or a happy ending, but I swear if you have a dry sense of humor you will love it!

Disappointing
My child didn't care for this book, and I didn't much appreciate it either. We expected a story about a family's trip to the zoo, but the story was primarily about the family. The father was grumpy and lied about his child's age, trying to get a better price. He also called his child a brat. (Adults in children's story books should be good role models.) The mother never smiled or said anything positive. Her picture portrayed her as no more than a child herself. The children fought and complained. "The Zoo" was only a setting for a story about a negative family tolerating an unpleasant day. Not appropriate for a children's book.

Zoo Is True
This book should be required reading for Zoo staff and Zoo visitors alike. ZOO is full of the ugly truth that surrounds so many zoo visits. I know. I work at a zoo. This book is appropriatly meloncholy, giving the reader{if they have'nt already] very mixed feelings about these institutions. The characters are real and if just one reader can see themselves in these characters and change for the better,dreams do come true.As always, Anthony Browne's illistrations are haunting and rich. the text is subtle, giving the reader an opportunity to read between the lines as they look between the bars on cages,to find their own perspective. I recommend this book.My three-year-old asked me thoughtful questions about it for days.It was fun to have such meaningfull dialogue with someone so young. ... Read more

Book Description

A lonely giraffe with no playmates and nine monkeys with no home team up for adventure. Curious George is among the nine little monkeys playing with Cecily G. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The first introduction of Curious George
This book has charming illustrations of Curious George and his siblings. It's actually the first book George ever appeared in. I think it can be enjoyed simply for that, keeping in mind it was written in simpler times before childrens' books were analyzed for political correctness. A previous review slashed this book saying the monkeys were cruel to the giraffe....I've never seen it that way, nor have the kids who I've read it to. See for yourself. If you're a fan of Curious George you'll enjoy seeing his debut.

Can Curious George Go Back to the Jungle???
Cecily loves her new family of monkey children and tries to make them as happy as she can. It's fun seeing how happy Curious George was before he was kidnapped by the man with the yellow hat and carted off from the jungle to New York. He had a wonderful large family, of which he was a beloved member. When I read this to my second grade class, they were upset that he had been taken from them. I reminded them that anyone of them can write the book that takes George home again. And that's what's great about imagination! I like this book quite a bit, even though the giraffe is a bit too accomodating about what she will allow the monkey to do. But what they think up, and what she does, are very imaginative and warm.

Attractive illustrations but utterly weird
Attractice illustrations combined with Curious G, pulled my 4yr old's attention to this book. WHen we read it, I just could not digest the story. Cecily will just do whatever the monkeys ask her to, even if it is dangerous to her and she is not enjoying it. This utter compliance (which is wrong) made me point out to my son that you really cannot tie someone's neck to a tree or slide down their back with a pointed ski poles. I don't know what the author was thinking, it is almost sadistic. ... Read more

Book Description

This favorite bedtime book is now available for Spanish speakingand bilingual babies and toddlers ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Heartwarming and Wonderful!
Although I did not see the television documentary on these two little darlings, I nevertheless loved the book. Although they are now big bears, the story of little Klondike and Snow's early years is interesting, educational and touching. Abandoned by their mother as cubs, the two bears were raised by humans. This book clearly illustrates the love and devotion of the Denver Zoo towards the cubs' care and development. Klondike and Snow are now thriving at Sea World's Wild Arctic exhibit, were they have plenty of living space and attention!

This book is wonderful for any animal lover and people interested in animal/human interaction.

Who could not love these adorable bears?
I was truly fascinated by the special program on Klondike and Snow and will watch it every time I see it. I have not yet found the video to purchase. If you loved watching these two bears grow up, then this will be a great book to purchase to remember them when they were cute and cuddly. I recommend this book to help teach children to love and respect animals. When we see how truly beautiful they are you could never harm them. Children learn these values early in life.

A Teacher's Review of "Klondike and Snow"
Anyone who was fascinated by the PBS program on these two polar bears will enjoy this book. It tells the story of their early years before being transfered to the Florida zoo. The photos are amazing! I've used this book as a resource with K-6th graders, and all ages have loved it. The text under the photos is very small and in blue, making it difficult to read, but the main text is fine, and otherwise the book is wonderful. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in these two very special bears. ... Read more

Book Description

You are a Bengal tiger cub,
one of three --Dacca, Rajpur, Raniganj --abandoned by your mother.

You are so cold and thin that someone with kind hands puts you on a heating pad and sits by you for hours, moistening your mouth with milk.

When you give a weak cry and look up, there is a human face almost crying too.

Your new mother is Helen Delaney Martini, who has already raised a lion cub in her New York apartment. Tigers in the bathtub will be no problem for her and her husband, Fred.

This remarkable book -- strikingly striped as tigers are, sympathetically spoken as any child could wish -- tells the story of Helen Martini, founder of the Bronx Zoo's animal nursery in 1944 and its first woman zookeeper. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Heartwarming and inspiring
Warmly written, based on fact, beautiful art, great for girls

Frostburg State Univ.'s Children's Literature Centre
This remarkable book tells the story of Helen Martini, founder of the Bronx Zoo's animal nursery in 1944 and its first woman zookeeper. Helen and her husband, Fred really wanted children. They lost their first child and Helen couldn't have any more. They began to fill their lives with pets. Fred found a job in the Bronx Zoo. He often took home some baby tigers and Helen cared for them just like she would care for a human baby. This lead to her setting up a nursery at the zoo to care for lots of baby animals. This story will be adored by both children and adults. ... Read more

Book Description

What could be more awesome than celebrating your birthday with the animals in the zoo! Especially when they're putting on the party. The raccoons blow up balloons, the bats pass out the hats, the lynx pours all the drinks. There's never been a party as wild as this! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The most exciting birthday celebration ever
Birthday Zoo is a joyful picture book by Deborah Lee Rose about the most exciting birthday celebration ever. A whimsical poem about fun activities suggested by various playful animal friends, and cheerful color illustrations by Lynn Munsinger make Birthday Zoo an upbeat, entertaining, and highly recommended picture book for beginning readers.

A ZOO-FULL OF GREETINGS
What do children enjoy more than a birthday party? Young folks find a visit to the zoo exciting. The combination of the two in "Birthday Zoo" is bound to bring smiles of delight.

Illustrated in engaging watercolors and presented in catchy rhyme, the story opens with a question, "'Hey, what's the big deal?'" noticed the seal." When it's discovered that the big deal is a birthday preparations begin.

"'What do we do?' asked the emu. 'Make everyone happy,' said the okapi." And that's precisely what this joyful narrative will do as balloons are blown up, party hats distributed, and refreshments served.

At the last, imagine being wished happy birthday by a whole zoo!

- Gail Cooke ... Read more

Reviews (6)

10 Unforgettable Pages
I have always loved driving to the zoo on Wednesday when the entrance fee is waived, but I have never loved counting. This is exactly the sentiment my child expressed when I made my first attempts to teach him the single-digit numbers. Of course, such pursuits are hopeless at an early age until the child develops distinct fingers around his or her third birthday. When this happens, however, it is a very good idea to pull your child aside and teach him exactly what it means to live under a decimal numeral system. When that day arrives, be sure to have a book just like this one at hand. Now, when I take my boy to the zoo, he sees the bear and, regardless of quantity, shouts, "One!" fondly. "Two!" for the seals. It's wonderful to watch him grow.

1,2,3 To The Zoo
Teach your children how to "count 1,2.3" while using common animals found at your local zoo. The pictures are very creative and will help the listener have fun grasping the basic numbers 1 through 10.

My daughter has learned her numbers
My 15-month old daughter has learned some of her numbers withthis book. It is her favorite -- the numbers are large and clear, and the graphics are attractive without being too busy or distracting. I have checked this book out at the library so many times that it is time to buy it! Since there are no words, this is an ideal book for parents to flex their creativity and act out animal sounds or motions.

Not As Good As It Gets
We are huge Eric Carle fans and found 1,2,3 To The Zoo disappointing. The drawings of the animals were great but a little description of activity would maintain the interest of the child. i.e 1 Bear is Jumping Up and Down, 2 Seals are clapping their hands, etc.

We found the book very lacking and unmotivating for our daughter.

Conceptualizes Zero
An important book in the counting genre because it demonstrates the concept of zero to young children. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Great Book for Emergent Readers
This book is perfect for a new reader. The repetitive text allows a child to master sight words while reading enjoyable story. The vivid illustrations of the animals give picture clues to the new reader to help him or her figure out the unknown words. The rhyme patterns also help develop phonic skills. Perfect for kindergarten and first grade!

Baby got a "smack"?
Not only did my kids seem very bored by this book, but I was a little disturbed that one of the very few suggestions of activity was a mother monkey "smacking" her baby.

Not a favorite
There's isn't much of a story to this repetitive book. Sure, there's lots of animals in this zoo and they all 'look back' at the main character after she looks at them, but it's not enough to make it interesting. My 2 and 4 year old weren't impressed and they LOVE books.

"Zoo Looking is a great book for Daddy reading"
Every night at story time, my husband complained about the lack of Daddies in picture books. But that was before he read this book. It's a very sweet story about a father and daughter's day trip to the zoo. The rhymes are catchy and clever and the pictures draw you into the story. This book is one our little daughter asks for again and again! ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

A monkey wearing a coat?
A button in the lion's den?
A hat near Billy Goat Mountain?
What is happening on this class trip to the zoo?

Read all about it! (And yes, you can read most of it, even if you don't know you canread!) Come and join the class on their trip. They had fun. So will you!

Reviews (1)

Simply wonderful!!
My daughters (ages 5 & 6) absolutely love this book! We have so much fun reading it together, or by themselves! The story is told in a repeating pattern, and many of which the children have probably memorized by now... but they cannot seem to get enough of this one!

The illustrations are very good, and the book gets progressively better with each turning page. Since some of the words are replaced by a picture (jacket, pants, button, etc.), children that don't read well, will be able to interact easily with this book! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Fun with Animals!
My son recently got this book as a gift and he has a good time with it. We like it because he recognizes many of the animals and has learned many new ones. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to introduce animals to their kids or is planning a trip to the zoo. ... Read more

Amazon.com

"Down by the station, early in the morning," before any visitors arrive, who exactly is riding that zoo train? Hop aboard and find out! See the elephant calf waving good-bye to Mommy and Daddy. And there's a pink flamingo chick, ready to ride. Who's this sleepy black-and-white cub? Still wrapped in a blanket, the panda isn't quite awake yet. The train chugs merrily along, picking up baby animal passengers. But beware! There's danger in the pond beside the tracks. Will the seal pup and baby penguin escape from the circling crocodiles?

Will Hillenbrand, illustrator of Counting Crocodiles and The House That Drac Built, has always been curious about what goes on in a zoo before opening hours. Adapting a traditional children's song, Hillenbrand depicts his charming vision, and presents a parallel journey of a school bus approaching the zoo while the train is making its rounds. Children, as diverse as the chicks and cubs and kits, bound out of the bus to seesaw with the elephant and play kickball with the seal. And the napping panda? He's found his match in a blanket-toting boy. "Puff, puff, toot, toot, off we go!" Basic song notation is included in the back for budding musicians. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Theo Learn to Sing with this Book
My little 2 year old boy loves trains, loves animals and loves music with strong rhythms. This book is three for three. Reading it with him produced his first real singing. I'd sing a stanza and leave out the last word, he'd fill it in, and one day he just kept going. Wow. The animals are mischievous, the kids at the Childrens' Zoo diverse and the "I'll save the day" zookeeper is a woman. By the way, all the animal parents look totally relaxed about their kiddies going off to school, my son was most concerned about the fact that the Mommie elephant dropped the stop sign - "Oh nooooo!"

I'm reading more into this than other people, I guess
My son loves trains and I collect train books to read to him. Due to the rave reviews I'd read here and at another source, I purchased this book. What none of the reviews said is this: the storyline is that train driven by humans goes around picking up baby animals while the parents wave goodbye to them. They go to a "children's zoo" and a schoolbus and school teacher arrive with young human children. They all play together, that is the end.

I guess I don't understand why the baby animals are being taken away from their famiies. All I could think of was that this is like preparing our children to separate from parents, as in, going to daycare. I don't like the emphasis on the separation. I do understand why the children are in school, obviously to get an education. To me this is a message to the children I am reading this book to: that human children should be separating from their parents and spending the day with other similarly aged children. I would have preferred to see animals in general getting on the train, or the human children getting on the train to go a normal zoo with the usual animal families. I enjoy books where the family unit is intact and where the parents are happily interacting with their children.

I also don't like that one baby animal carries a "lovey" blanket and one boy does also. I just don't like "lovey" objects as they are usually initiated by the parent as a way for the baby or young child to provide nighttime comfort and to self-soothe with (when the parent is not co-sleeping to provide the historically normal parenting comfort). Animals all sleep together (as many humans do) so I especially am bothered by that illustration of the baby animal with a "lovey".

A side note, I am not interested in the school association as I am homeschooling. Not everyone sends their children to school and not every child rides on a big yellow schoolbus! Couldn't the entire family be visiting the animals in the zoo rather than making this associated with separating the human children from their parents (even if it is to go to public school)?

The words are fun and my son does love this book. It is the underlying message that I don't agree with.

You will LOVE this book!
My 3 year old is crazy about this book! The story (tune) is easy for him to sing along with, and the pictures are adorable. They really tell the story. There is so much detail to the pictures that we can spend lots of time on each page - "do you see where the balloon went this time?" "what is the elephant doing now?". I also absolutely love it that there are very diverse children in the book - even a little girl in a wheelchair. This is now one of my regular "gift" books for all new babies, too.

My son's favorite book!
This is by far my 2 year old son's favorite book and he has lots of them. Whenever it's time to read to him he says "toot toot" and I know that means he wants to have this book read to him, sometimes several times in a row. The illustrations are wonderful, and there is all sorts of stuff going on if you look closely. An all around great, fun book, I highly recommend this book.

A Great Book to "SING" to your children!
My 2 1/2 year old LOVES this book...and so do I! It is so great to curl up with this book and spend some time singing the song (complete with wonderful animal noises) while looking at the cheery illustrations. The loving animal families as well as the children of all colors, shapes and sizes (even one in a wheel chair) lead to fun discussions as we read. My five year old loves it too! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A delightful board book
Specifically designed, written, and illustrated for children ages 6 months to 4 years, Brian Wildsmith's Zoo Animals is a delightful board book that introduces animals commonly seen at the zoo. Youngsters can name the animals while parents and care givers can teach them interesting facts about each creature represented in vivid colors. Very highly recommended for family, preschool, kindergarten, and day-care board book collections, Brian Wildsmith's Zoo Animals is also available in Spanish: Brian Wildsmith Los animales del zoologico. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The world rejoices each time a rare giant panda is born. When tiny HuaMei was born on August 21, 1999, her caregivers gave her extra protection fromany potential dangers. For the first weeks of her life, this baby could beviewed only with a camera in her den at the San Diego Zoo. She and her mother,Bai Yun, spent the time bonding--panda papas have nothing to do with the raisingof their cubs. Gradually, as Hua Mei grew bigger and stronger, she began to playand eat on her own, and the world was finally allowed to see her when she wasabout five months old.

Who can resist the allure of a cuddly baby panda? Joanne Ryder, author of manypopular books about creatures great and small, including Earthdance, traces the younglife of a panda with minimal text and many remarkable photos from the ZoologicalSociety of San Diego. Curious readers will learn that, at birth, panda cubs aremore than 800 times smaller than their mothers and that they are blind for thefirst few months of life. Parents and kids will love reading this book togetherand contemplating the parallels between fragile panda cubs and human babies.(Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Beautiful and educational
I'll be perfectly honest: I love following Hua Mei's story at the San Diego Zoo web site. I'm a complete sucker for panda stories. So I was pleased to finally see a more permanent record of Hua Mei's first year.

While I bought this book for the photographs (which are plentiful, large, and beautiful), this book should also appeal to children and parents because of its text (or perhaps I should say "texts"). The author has written two parallel texts: one fairly simple and straightforward for younger readers, printed in large type, and a slightly more complex one in smaller type, giving more detailed information about pandas. By creating a book that appeals to more than one reading level, Ms. Ryder has given us a book that parents will be able to share with their young children as they grow older and learn to read.

Make no mistake; this is not a detailed textbook about pandas. If that's what you're looking for, I recommend George Schaller's LAST PANDA (also available from Amazon.com, coincidentally enough). But this is a good introduction for young children, who may be able to indentify with the young Hua Mei. For older panda lovers, this is an excellent collection of photographs. The only thing that keeps me from giving this book five stars (besides the fact that I never give anything five stars) is that I can never get enough information about Hua Mei. ... Read more

Book Description

Since monkeys and elephants and crocodiles don't make good tour guides who better to walk us through the inner workings of a zoo than the zookeeper?Roland Smith, award winning writer and 20-year zookeeper, introduces young readers to little known facts - sometimes in the middle of the night zookeepers do go back to check the locks, giraffes don't know how to duck making it difficult to drive under a bridge when the zookeepers transport them from one location to another, and exactly how much time do zookeepers spend with the pooper-scooper?"Z is for Zookeeper" gives children a front row seat at the zoo - one of the ultimate childhood places.

"Z is for Zookeeper" will keep kids turning the pages as often as they request, "Can we go to the zoo?" ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Cute board book in the shape of a hippo's head
This is a pleasant rhyming book about how to hide a hippo:

"If you should sneak a hippo home, you'll find she's hard to hide. Her head is huge! Her bottom's big! Her middle's very wide."

...and so on.

The cover of the book has plastic eyes with moveable pupils and little felt ears. The pages are die cut to resemble teeth and the center page is drawn to look like the hippo's open mouth. You can pinch the binding to make the hippo open and close her mouth.

My ten month old daughter enjoys turning the pages and seeing the hippo chomp.

There are other books in the "Chomper" series which are designed in a similar fashion to resemble a bear, a tiger and a dinosaur. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Great little baby book
My twins received this book among many other books when they were born, and this was the one they reached out for first. From early as 3 months old, I would flip through the book page by page, and show them the pictures and say the names of the animals, and they would look at the pictures and really seemed to pay attention. As they grew a little older, they would get excited when they saw certain animals, like the lion or the butterfly. I think my twins prefer books with photographs instead of drawings, and so Happy Baby Animals really captured their interest. Also, the small size of the book is suited for their little hands and they can grasp the book and turn the pages for themselves. My twins are now one year old, and though the pages have become a little battered, I am still getting mileage out of this book. ... Read more

Book Description

When a cuddly koala takes an interest in George's snack at the zoo, George is happy to share. In fact, George is happy to share with ALL the animals! Following a trail of peanuts, the zookeepers soon catch up with George and discover this little monkey is good for more than just mischief. The adventures of Curious George continue in an all-new series beginning in fall 1998 with eight new stories. Written and illustrated in the style of Margret and H. A. Rey, the books will appear in paperback (8 x 8") and hardcover editions and will feature the art of Vipah Interactive, the animators of HMI's Curious George CD-ROMs. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

One of the best in the Curious George series.
In this story George and his friend visit the zoo to see a new exhibit. George witnesses a zoo keeper feeding the seals and decides it would be fun to share his snack with the other animals. Because George can't read the signs by the animal cages he doesn't know that you should not feed the animals. After giving the zoo keepers a merry chase he is caught and told that feeding the animals things they shouldn't eat can make them sick. George feels bad and makes up for it by helping the zoo keepers with the new exhibit. Excellent story and introduces a number of different animals for children to identify. ... Read more