Zoo Books We Love
Zoo Day (A "My First Experience" Book)
Zoo Day by Anne Rockwell is a well-written book about a little boy and his family who take a trip to the zoo for the first time. If you cannot take a real trip to the zoo I HIGHLY recommend you read this book. It beautifully lays out what a zoo day might look like. The author describes going to the different animal habitats and what the little boy sees at each exhibit. She also does a great job at including animal facts organically in a fiction book.
The illustrations are beautiful and very realistic. We loved the page about the polar bear especially because we had just visited our zoo and watched a polar bear swim.
My Heart is Like a Zoo
I included this book because the illustrations are absolutely amazing. The author manages to make 21 different animals out of heart shapes. We have even included an extra bonus activity this month re-creating a few of our favorites from the book.
Aside from the illustrations, the book is a HUGE metaphor. It compares the character’s heart to the many zoo animals: “eager as a beaver, steady as a yak.”
Good Night Gorilla
This is a well-loved book by so many families, but we actually read it for the first time this month and it did not disappoint.
As the zookeeper locks up for the night, he says goodnight to each animal, but he doesn’t know that the gorilla has taken his keys and is letting all of the animals out. The animals are not causing any mischief; they just want to follow the zookeeper home and sleep with him.
This book was filled with vibrant pictures, simple text, and a sweet story that your Lil’ will love.
Down by the Station
I chose this book because Rea’s gymnastic class plays the song Down by the Station and she LOVES it. She will sing it for days. This book is written to the tune of the song Down by the Station and it extends the song by adding more verses. The book is beautifully written and we loved having a book version of one of our favorite songs.Two at the Zoo
This is a counting book. It is about a little boy who goes to the zoo with his grandpa and they count all the animals they see. This book has a variety of animals and some that are less common in most zoo books like eagles and warthogs. I absolutely loved the colorful pictures, the opportunity to count and use numbers, and the rhyming in the book.Never, Ever Shout in a Zoo
Have you ever shouted in a zoo? Do you know what will happen? The little girl in this story finds out that if you shout in the zoo, you might scare the bear who will charge through his cage. And once the bear gets out, there is no telling what other animals will escape.
This book is really sweet. It has a lot of repetitive text which is great for building vocabulary and there is a great rhyme scheme.
If Anything Ever Goes Wrong at the Zoo
Leslie goes to the zoo every Saturday and each time she visits, she tells the animal handlers that if anything ever goes wrong at the zoo they can bring the animals to her house. One day, it rains really hard and things start to go wrong at the zoo. So, of course, the zookeepers remember what Leslie said and they bring the animals to Leslie’s house.
The watercolor pictures are beautiful and very realistic versus other books that are more cartoony and the story is endearing. Also, Rea liked the idea of all the animals coming to our house if anything ever went wrong at the zoo.
Lesson Bundles
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