The Zoo I Drew [Hardcover]

Todd H. Doodler (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 2 and up

The cutest, cleverest animal alphabet book in years!

Filled with graphically bold and laugh-out-loud animal art, The Zoo I Drew takes children on a bright and bumpy tour of the ABCs! Silly rhyming text introduces a menagerie of animals from the scaly alligator to the cuddly koala to the finicky panda to a sadly balding vulture to the X . . . Wait! Has anyone ever found a truly satisfying animal for the letter X? Only the youthful narrator-illustrator of The Zoo I Drew knows.

This book also features a fluted cover—a fancy term for ridges—that makes it visually appealing on the shelf and fun to hold!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This animal alphabet book looks promising, starting with its bright red corrugated cover that evokes an old-fashioned sketchbook. The portraits of zoo favorites, set against single color backdrops, are both winsome and graphically bold, bringing to mind rubber bathtub toys. But pictures with this much pop beg for a text with equally memorable verse, and Doodler-actually Todd Harris Goldman (Boys Are Stupid, Throw Rocks at Them!)-does not provide it. The verses rhyme, technically, but the word choices are weak and the rhythms uneven. His lines on the vulture, for example, are clunky: "With a bald, wrinkled head,/ It's called a bird of prey./ I just don't understand why/ The vulture doesn't wear a wig or toupee." The text repeatedly falls far short of the book's eye-catching design. Ages 2-5.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1—This playful alphabet offering combines bold artwork with rhyming, conversational text to muse about a variety of zoo residents. The cover, with its corrugated texture and an illustration of a giraffe equaled in height by a stack of turtles, invites readers to peer inside. Large graphic-style cartoon images of the animals, presented against solid-colored backdrops, fill the pages. Though the (sometimes awkward) verses offer a smattering of facts about each critter, they lean more toward the whimsical and occasionally encourage readers to think beyond the pictures. For example, a unicorn is included, but the author admits that it "…wasn't really at the zoo./i'm just seeing if you're paying attention,/so i played a trick on you!" He also ponders why a vulture, with its "bald, wrinkled head," doesn't "wear a wig" and comments seriously about fox fur coats. The entry for "X" cleverly skirts the issue: "i couldn't find an animal for x,/so instead i grabbed a quick snack" (a plate of cookies that is immediately consumed by the next animal, a yak). An additional purchase.—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services Plano ISD, TX
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 56 pages
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (July 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375852018
• ISBN-13: 978-0375852015
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 0.5 x 10.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,029,681 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars greatbook, August 28, 2011

By 

wilbur - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Zoo I Drew (Hardcover)

My granddaughter loved this book. Very colorful,the illustrations are wonderful! The story is cute, made here laugh. Would recommend this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, July 15, 2010

By 

KPen - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Zoo I Drew (Hardcover)

I bought this book as a gift after finding it on Amazon, not having seen it in person. It is adorable. From the corrugated cover, to the illustrations and rhymes inside. It will make a VERY cute gift and I am going to buy another for my 2 year old!

4.0 out of 5 stars quirky and cute, November 16, 2009

By 

J. Mcnew "sahm74" (savannah, ga) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Zoo I Drew (Hardcover)

my 1 year old and my 3 year old girls love this book! Great middle of the day read; helps teach letters and inspires my 3 year old to write and draw!