Birthday Zoo
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!
The idea for this book came from my son's request to have his birthday party at the zoo. I wondered what the zoo animals would think of that--and this question turned into how would the animals throw a birthday bash!
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
"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.
Booklist
"...the silly play with animal names, wild pictures, and thumping rhymes are sure to make this a popular read-aloud."
KIRKUS REVIEWS
"A cheerful, rhymed birthday celebration for a young boy staged by the animals of the zoo."