This Zoo is Not for You

Reviewed by: Sarah Cropley - Scarborough Public Library, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: June 12, 2018

Review

This Zoo is Not for You is a story of some zoo animals who are conducting interviews for a position at the zoo. A platypus comes and is rejected by each member of the zoo for not having characteristics similar to them. He leaves, dropping the envelope he was carrying as he does so. Then, the animals realize he just wanted to invite them to a party. Luckily, he is still willing to accept them.

The illustrations are the star of this book. Expressive and clean, they bring the characters to life. Unfortunately, the premise doesn't make sense even for the many stretches of the imagination that we give to picture book fiction. Additionally, the rhymes are clunky. Still, the magic of the illustration lifts an otherwise poor book. Recommended only as an additional purchase.

Overall Book Score: fair