Zoo School
Grade 3-5–This humorous fantasy focuses on five students who enter the new Zoo School where the motto is "Let the Animals Be Your Textbooks." Each child has a distinct idiosyncrasy that makes being in this environment a bit challenging; for example, Ursula prefers the rigidity of ordinary school and Drake is terrified of animals. The two zookeepers teach math by counting zebras' stripes, gym by swimming with seals, and writing by watching snakes move. When their homes are cleaned, the animals are moved to the classroom, and the youngsters never know what they will find there in the morning. The Learned Inspectors of New Schools (L.I.O.N.S.) must give their seal of approval in order for the facility to stay open. Their questionnaires appear throughout the book along with their ratings. When the inspectors decide that the school must be closed, and the mysterious principal, Ms. Ella Font, is nowhere to be found, it is up to the students to try to save the place that they have come to love. The characters are clearly developed, and all of the children gradually learn about themselves and the world around them. This evenly paced novel could be shared aloud with youngsters needing a step up from Joanna Cole's "Magic School Bus" series (Scholastic) or read independently by those who enjoy zany school stories like Louis Sachar'sSideways Stories from Wayside School(Turtleback, 1978).–Jean Gaffney, Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library, Miamisburg, OHCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.