Having had a horrible first visit to the zoo, Gwenda stays after hours and transforms it into a happier place for all the animals.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-- Visiting the zoo with assorted relatives who mock and tease the animals, Gwenda is not amused. When the others depart, she sneaks back into the grounds. After hiding until closing time, she speaks with the caged animals, who tell her of the indignities they suffer at the hands of humans. Gwenda then appears in a halo of mystical light at the zookeeper's door, instructing him on how to reform his practices with the animals and how to put disrespectful humans in their place. By so doing, she finds a way out of her own parallel feelings of entrapment. In the full-page paintings, broad planes, somber color, and sculptural chiaroscuro contribute to the moody atmosphere (except in the high-contrast black and white of the pandas and penguins), but serve more to accompany the text than to amplify it. The chapter format may appeal to beginning readers, and two important concepts are at work: that of independent action, and that children can try to correct environmental and attitudinal wrongs committed by previous generations. But the treatment suffers from inflated writing, heavy-handedness, and an unrelieved contempt for adults. Discussion questions could focus on means and ends (Gwenda sneaks and lies), and about the use of revenge as a corrective technique (there is a cage reserved for human bullies). --Karen Litton, London Public Libraries, Ontario, Canada
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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