One Night in the Zoo
PreSchool-K—Children can count from 1 to 10 by viewing the antics of zoo animals. The author uses a multitude of words that rhyme with zoo (flew, kangaroo, gnu, stew) to describe the secret nighttime activities of these familiar creatures. However, this constant rhyme begins to sound silly and tedious. "Four bears cooked a squid and squidgeberry stew/Which turned five flamingos/from pink to blue." The culminating spread shows all of the animals grouped by their respective number for a final counting exercise. Pale pastel-colored pencil artwork looks washed out despite the action-filled poses. The text font is large, and words are simple enough for beginning readers. This is merely supplemental to the many outstanding counting books that are currently available.—Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA(c) Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.