Birthday Zoo - Softcover

Deborah Lee Rose is a published author of children's books and young adult books.

PreSchool-Grade 2-With simple, rhyming statements and a few questions, 23 animals describe their efforts to make a birthday party for a young, gleeful, red-haired boy. The fun begins with a date circled on the calendar. "`Hey, what's the big deal?' noticed the seal. `Birthday today!' reported the ray." Interesting verbs add to the fun, as in "`We need some more forks!' flurried the storks"; and "`Go on, make a wish,' burbled the fish." While Rose's strong rhythm and rhymes will charm youngsters in a storytime, Munsinger's lively pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations beg for closer inspection. Readers will delight in the skillfully drawn, realistic animals engaged in fantastic activity, such as the seal bearing a stack of gifts on the top of his nose, the sloth lying on the tablecloth he is spreading, bats sporting paper hats, and much more on each captivating spread. A sense of reality wordlessly returns on the concluding page as the boy feeds cake to his menagerie of stuffed animals. Libraries will want to support birthdays, zoo trips, and flights of fancy with this splendid celebration.
Laura Scott, Baldwin Public Library, Birmingham, MI
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