There's a Zoo in Room 22 [Paperback]

Judy Sierra (Author), Barney Saltzberg (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

The kids in Miss Darling's class are very lucky--what other classroom has its own alphabet zoo?

From the author of the bestselling Antarctic Antics: A Book of Penguin Poems comes another collection of delightfully playful verse. Every kid will want to join this class!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Miss Darling of room 22 is a very special teacher indeed. When asked by her students if they could have "a truly awesome classroom pet," Miss Darling replied, "Yes! Or better yet,/Let's choose a whole pet alphabet." So, from Amanda Anaconda to the zorilla, an unexpected pet (the class thought a zorilla would be a kind of gorilla--"a warmhearted ape with plenty of spunk./Surprise! A zorilla is only a skunk."), room 22 becomes a veritable menagerie of some rather unusual critters. Take the electric eel, for example.

Please don't ask to feel
Our electric eel,
Because, if you bug him,
We cannot unplug him.

Or the octopus, a geometry expert that tries to fold itself into a hexaflexagon. Then there's the surfing newt, the kissing yak ("Yuck!"), and the turkey that, in Thanksgiving-shirking disguise, somehow ends up as the assistant principal.

Judy Sierra, award-winning author of such superb picture books as Counting Crocodiles and Antarctic Antics: A Book of Penguin Poems strikes gold again with this playful collection of animal alphabet verses. Her text is charmingly accompanied by Barney Saltzberg's (creator of such marvels as Mrs. Morgan's Lawn) comfy, cartoonish full-spread pictures, many of which include hints of upcoming animals. Warning: students everywhere will soon be begging their teachers for pet fleas, vultures, and jaguarundi. (Ages 6 to 10) --Emilie Coulter --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-Classroom pets? Room 22 has an abundance of them-one for every letter of the alphabet, from cat to quahog, from anaconda to katydid. Each 4-to-12 line poem portrays some of the common behaviors and personality characteristics inherent to each creature. There's a lunch-stealing lemur, a bad-smelling warthog, and a parrot that gets sent to the principal's office. Saltzberg's colored-pencil and watercolor cartoons meld well with the humorous tone of the text. Each one-to-two page spread is filled with energy, showing the featured animal and the multiethnic students that populate Miss Darling's classroom. Most of the poems are in rhymed couplets, but a few tamper with the meter. Occasional word choices, e.g., "moose"/"boots," "muscle"/"octopuzzle" are a bit of a stretch. Overall, though, this engaging collection is sure to entice listeners to create a zoo (real or imagined) of their own and perhaps to compose original poems as well. A good choice for animal units, plus useful for early readers still working on their alphabet skills.
Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper (July 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152050205
• ISBN-13: 978-0152050207
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.1 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #933,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #84 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Literature > Poetry > Humorous

More About the Author

I grew up in a very creative, book-loving family. My father was a photographer, and my mother was a librarian. They read to me constantly, especially poetry. When I was seven, they built me a puppet theater and I gave my first performance, "The Three Wishes." In college I studied literature, and afterwards I became a children's librarian. A few years later, I set out on my own as a puppeteer, quickly joining forces with another puppet artist, who became my husband. We studied traditional puppetry in Indonesia, and traveled all over the U.S. as teachers and artists-in-residence. About twenty years ago, I combined what I had learned as an avid reader and writer, as a librarian and children's entertainer, and began writing books for children. All of my books are meant to be read aloud and dramatized. To learn more about how each of my books came to be, please visit my web site: http://www.judysierra.net.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun-Filled Book of Poems, October 11, 2000

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: There's a Zoo in Room 22 (Hardcover)

Miss Darling is an inspired teacher and when her students ask for a class pet, she turns the search into a class lesson, reciting a poem about an animal for each letter of the alphabet. Are they interested in Amanda Anaconda or Boring Beetle Bill...the Quiet Quohog or the Umbrella Bird...? Judy Sierra has written a funny, witty, very imaginative book of poems that will delight and amuse young children, as each letter of the alphabet is used to describe and give a little information about some familiar and many unfamiliar animals. Barney Saltzberg's colorful, expressive illustrations add just the right touch to each verse and children will enjoy looking for the hidden animals in each picture. This is a perfect book for youngsters aged 3-7 and a wonderful addition to all home libraries.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun for All!, August 22, 2000

By 

Children's Book Collector (Midwest, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: There's a Zoo in Room 22 (Hardcover)

While most classroom's have a pet, the kids in Room 22 have a pet for each letter of the alphabet. From Amanda Anaconda to a zorilla (what's a zorilla?) we get to meet all of the classroom pets via Judy Sierra's humorous verse. Barney Saltzberg's playful illustrations are a fitting match with the witty text. My personal favorite is 'E'. What's yours?

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SO Cute!, August 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: There's a Zoo in Room 22 (Hardcover)

This book is so cute. The illustrations are so adorable. I bought this book for my friend's little sister's birthday and she loves it! The story is fun, too!