Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

The 40th anniversary edition of this classic children’s book will create another generation of fans when offered this beautiful gold edition, a board book which fits snugly into smaller hands. The lift the flap pages which greet them will be enough to keep them eagerly involved and the story that unfolds showing the zoo animals in all their glory will hold readers spellbound. Campbell, a favourite creator of stories over four decades, uses gentle humour to entice his pre-school readers into looking at a range of animals.

The book offers readers a tale of selecting an appropriate pet as the child writes to the zoo in their quest.  Each double page shows a crate delivered to the house with a few words hinting at what might be inside. The big yellow crate which greets the readers when opening the book, has a sign saying ‘very heavy’ and the text tells us that he was too big so was sent back. Opening the flap reveals an elephant, a most inappropriate pet.

The next page reveals a giraffe and children will see its head above the crate, so the reveal will confirm what they have already worked out.  Children will love guessing what the new offering might be, eventually opening the flap to reveal the contents of each crate.

Each animal will cause laughter amongst the readers as they see from the words and images that the animal is not what someone would like as a pet. Readers will be able to discuss with the adult the animals they have seen, the animals they might see in a zoo, the difference between a zoo animal and a pet, while taking in the repetition, range of colours and the humour on each page.

This is a wonderful edition celebrating a well known and loved book, ensuring it will continue to be loved by many more generations of fans. 

Themes: Zoos, Animals, Pets, Humour, Colour.

Fran Knight