My Heart Is Like a Zoo
The bold digital collages of zoo animals in this debut picture book are clear and bright, and the simple rhymes about feelings will have preschoolers savoring the words, joining in, and pointing at every playful zoo scene, each featuring one animal per page. Even toddlers will enjoy talking about the scenarios, especially after they see the final spread with the small “zookeeper” asleep in his bed, his beloved animal toys snuggled around him. Kids will easily recognize the emotions in the words—“Snappy as a crab, / angry as a bear, / bothered as a bull / with a hornet in its hair”—as well as the more positive feelings—“Brave as a lion, / thoughtful as an owl, / peaceful as a portly walrus / lounging on a towel.” A final note points out that all the collage pictures are made up of heart-shaped pieces, more than 300 in all, and older kids might want to count them. Preschool. --Hazel Rochman