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*Animal Strike at the Zoo.  It's True!* by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Margaret Spengler

 
Also by Karma Wilson:

Bear's Loose Tooth

Trick or Treat, Calico! (Calico Books)
 
Animal Strike at the Zoo. It's True!
by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Margaret Spengler
Agew 4-8 32 pages HarperCollins May 2006 Hardcover    

I am going to say this right from the get-go, just so that you are forewarned – you cannot, I mean CANNOT, read this book and prevent yourself from spending the next few days marching around the house shouting “There’s an animal strike at the zoo, it’s true!” Trust me, my house was filled with those very shouts, and not just from my little boy. My husband and I were in on it, too, and that is the magic of this simply awesome book by Karma Wilson.

Oh yes, there is chaos brewing at the local zoo, where the animals are growing tired of not having all the luxuries they want. The elephants want to be paid in more than peanuts, the monkeys demand a pool, and the giraffes are threatening to cover their necks in turtleneck sweaters unless all their demands are met. So they go on strike, much to the chagrin of the zookeepers and the public…until a sweet little girl named Sue makes them realize they need to focus on what they have, not on what they don’t have.

Animal Strike at the Zoo, It’s True! is told in rollicking rhyme, and Karma Wilson’s hilarious text is accompanied by some of the best illustrations I’ve seen yet in a children’s book, thanks to Margaret Spengler’s bold use of color and whimsical imagination. Child and animal alike leap off the page and kids will love reading this over and over again. This is one writing/illustrating team I hope to see more books from in the future.

But remember my warning. I dare you to read this book and email me a week later and tell me you did not, even ONCE, whisper to yourself the book title, let alone say it out loud. I dare you.



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  Marie D. Jones/2006 for curled up with a good kid's book  






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