Customer Reviews

Dear Zoo

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My 18-month old son really enjoys it when I read this book to him. The story is very simple (just a few words on each page) and over quickly so that even very small children could pay attention. The drawings are very simple too but cute. My son giggles when he lifts the flaps to see the animals beneath.

However I thought I should mention that the flaps in the book are a bit flimsy. Children and babies who are rough with books will rip off the flaps in no time. They're not the thick cardboard flaps some board books have, but more like a thick paper (similar to bristol board).

But all in all it's a very cute book. I can see why it's been around so long.

I've read this book to my daughter since she was four months old. She really likes looking at the pictures and flaps. Other books, even classics like "The Runaway Bunny," have too many words to interest her, but this one has a very short, succinct story and great pictures.

While I never thought I would like a kids book as much as my son, I actually get excited to read this book with him. In fact, when we lost "Dear Zoo" I promptly had to replace it because I missed the book so. Don't judge, I can be a bit of nerd.

There are a two main reasons why I like reading this book with him so much. First, the flap book style has engaged him since he was around 6 months old and still does at 14 months. In particular, each of the flaps opens in a different way. He had to work hard at first to wrap his mind around some of them but I think this was good practice for his motor skills. And even though he has the book memorized at this point he is still very eager to open the flaps.

Second, I like the simple style. "Dear Zoo" isn't overly wordy but we fill the story with lots of noises and gestures. My boy loves making the sounds on his own and there are lots of concepts to be learned.

All in all, I think "Dear Zoo" is one worth owning because the interactive style and simply story have managed to hold his attention while other books have fallen to the wayside. And this kid loves his books so he's a bit of a critic.

THis is a wonderful book. Our daughter loves to lift the flaps to discover the animals. Its one of those simple yet great books that will never lose its appeal.

A very sweet catalogue of inappropriate pets! Eliot can't quite lift the flaps yet but he smiles when we do it for him. It will be fun to watch him learn the story and make predictions about which animal is hidden on the next page.

My 12 month old twin boys love this book. They know how to lift the flaps already! It will be great for teaching them animal names and making predicitons. I used to use this book a lot when I taught kindergarten, also. We would read the text and then think of animals that matched that description. Then we would look at hte picture and teh kids would all want to guess what was in each cage. A great book!!

Tis the ultimate interactive story for the young 'uns. An unseen narrator (who we assume must be a child of some sort) narrates a tale of unprecedented zooish generosity. After asking the zoo for a pet, a series of animals are sent in the hope that the child will want them. Unfortunately (and as the book makes clear) many of animals one finds at the zoo are inappropriate pets. Each animal that arrives is hidden beneath a flap. When you lift the flap the children to whom you are reading this tale are supposed to delightedly cry out the name of that particular animal. In this way, you can teach kids the kinds of animals that live at the zoo. For the narrator, though, elephants are too big, lions too fierce, monkeys to naughty, and frogs too jumpy. In the end, the narrator receives a small hamper with the note, "From all your friends at the zoo" containing the perfect pet.

As an early book, this story and its accompanying illustrations are very very simple. I was a little disappointed at the flimsiness of the flaps children are supposed to lift or turn. The copy I paged through had been scotch taped and re-scotch taped several times to keep the book in any kind of semblance of order. It is also a pity that the animals in this book aren't named ever. I don't doubt that kids will, mostly, be able to name them anyway, but it's nice to learn to read the names along with the pictures of the animals. Still, the book is satisfying to read. No subtext here. Nuh-uh. Just a very basic story about a zoo, some friendly animals, and the reasons (or lack there of) of keeping them. For another interesting and enjoyable zoo book, try "Good Night, Gorilla" by Peggy Rathmann (a personal pet favorite of mine).

We all love this book. It's about the only one that I have to read again and again and don't get bored with it.... Our baby loves lifting the flaps (and she's only 13 months), and smiles when we make animal noises that go along with the picture (the monkey page is the funniest!) A great buy.

I have six little ones from 10 to 2. They have all enjoyed this book and now the older ones read it to the younger one's. I found my two year old reading it to herself from memory. What a treasure!

My Daughter loves this book. She started reading it at twelve months and still enjoys the book ten months later. It is simple. The flaps open in different directions.