zoo's who
Grade 3-5–Quick quips, wordplay, and poetic license mark Florian's continuing scheme of paying homage to animals in short verse and imaginative paintings. Though readers may expect to meet zoo animals this time around, they will encounter quite an eclectic assortment of creatures as the term "zoo" is apparently intended in a wider sense. "Slugs are ugly./Slugs are lowly./Slugs climb mountains/Very slowly." If the verses seem rather slow, too, they're mostly quite short and some will evoke a chuckle. The mixed-media art facing each of the 21 entries is intriguing. Florian's small endnote on the art materials acknowledges many tools and "much collage on primed brown paper bags." Saw-toothed edges appear at the top or bottom of some of the framed, full-page views, and muted color tones broadly painted sketch each creature and fill in the background. Most scenes are abstract or surreal with a wide array of small images imposed on the featured animal or scattered about. They always include stamped letters variously placed to spell the animal's name. The overall effect is quick and primitive, sometimes puzzling. While not the strongest work in this series, both the verse and the art might find diverse use by imaginative classroom teachers.–Margaret Bush, Simmons College, BostonCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.