Book Review: Who's New at Lou's Zoo? (children's, animals)(OT)

Who's New at Lou's Zoo? by JoAnn Dickinson (Two Sweet Peas Publishing, 2022, 5-8 years, 43 pp, $18.49 hardcover) Reviewed by Skye Anderson.

Does that cover girl look like an alpaca to you? Do you even know what an alpaca looks like? Have you ever seen an alpaca? Or a mandrill?

Meet 15 zoo animals with appropriate names, like Peter Parrot, Gage Gorilla, Mickey Monkey, Wally Walrus, Alvin Alligator, Kimo Koala, Gina Giraffe, Henrietta Hippo, Zelda Zebra, Rip Rhino, Ellie Elephant, Callie and Cassie Chameleon, Martin Mandrill, Winston Owl. And can you guess who is chatty, glorious, meek, loyal, friendly, shy, gentle, happy, stylish, playful, black, colorful, wise? Some we could but some we  couldn't.

Take this book with you the next time you visit a zoo and see if you recognize the animals. Some you will and some you won't. Illustrator Lauren Sparks has taken poetic license to her drawings - our favorite page is the tails.

And can you guess who will be coming to Lou's zoo? We made a guess and we were wrong!

But, What's the Point?

So, the zoo will be getting a new animal, sort of like your class getting a new student. Do you  wonder what he or she will be like? Do you think you will like him/her? Will he or she like you? Will the new person be like me? Will the new person like me? Will I like them? How can we help everyone to like each other? Will having a party help? These are all the same questions the animals in Lou's zoo are asking and it's perfectly natural to wonder at new things. But Lou's animals (and the new one) have unique worries and, in the end, everything turns out very well indeed. This is a lesson for all of us.

Want to Meet These Animals?

Four pages in the back of the book tell you all about each of the animals in Lou's zoo.