Dear Zoo product reviews

I absolutely love this book, and can remember my parents reading it to me when I was little. When I was pregnant with my daughter I wanted to start building her up a library of books so every week or 2 on pay day I would go out and buy her a new book to add to the collection, and this so happened to be one of the very first I brought for her.

'Dear Zoo' is such a fun, hands on and interactive children's book and being about animals is sure to be a hit with almost any child, because lets face it what child doesn't love animals? The book is really easy to read, the words are nice and simple and easy for little ones to understand, they are also repetitive which means in no time at all your little will probably be reading the story to you!

The book is very interactive due to being a lift the flaps book, when reading it to my daughter I stop and ask her which animal is under the flaps, she will often now have a guess before lifting the flap, but still loves to lift it up to see if she was right. It hasn't taken her long to memorize which order the animals appear in in the story, which is great for building on her memory, the flaps are fantastic for developing children's fine motor skills as well, as they lift them up and down.

The illustrations are bright and colourful and easily recognized by children. This story never gets old, you can always add new ideas to it such as what sound does the animal make?, what do you think it eats? how does it move? the possibilities really are endless. The children at my daycare really love it as do the children at my daycare centre, who often request it. I have made this story into a magnetic story once before and the children love to have their own animals during the mat time to re-tell the story with. Definitely a children's book well worth purchasing which will never get old, and for $14.99 it is one of the cheaper children's books out there.

Both of my girls absolutely love this book and I have to admit so do I. It is so easy to read and bonus of flaps that the girls can lift up to reveal an animal. The words are so simple and repetitive so its a nice easy book for the girls to read.

Pretty basic story line a little girl wrote the zoo to send her a pet and the zoo ends up sending her all sorts of animals but none of them are perfect so she has to keep sending them back until they think very hard and come up with the perfect pet to send.

The pictures are very cute and the flaps represent the container the animal would of been sent in so it is a very plausable story if zoos just sent animals out.

Would highly recommend to anyone who loves a good story with their children and enjoys making animal sounds. As an added bonus the pages are nice and strong and so are the flaps and is really well made. Really cute story.

I have read this book over and over with the children at my work, and read it as recently as Friday just gone! Even if this book hasn't been read in weeks the children still remember which animal is under which flap as each box is delivered with a new animal from the zoo.

This book is very interactive as it allows the reader to stop and ask the children which animal is under each flap...and whichever child says the right animal they can come up, open the flap and see if they guessed right. The children can remember in which order the animals come as well so this book proves a great resource to promote memory and fine motor skills as they use their hands to manipulate the flap to reveal the animal.

All children like the zoo and zoo animals so this book is perfect for any occasion, and this book can be used in so many ways, as you read the book the children can make the sound of the animal on each page, (well we don't know how to make the sound of an elephant so we swing our arm like a trunk!) we roar like the lion, ribbit like the frog, hiss like the snake...the children love it, it means they get to be noisy and move around at mat times because the book calls for movement and talking!

The repetitive words throughout the book allows the children to read the book along with me which I like because it means they are interested and engaged with what is happening. The bigger font allows the children to follow the words with their eyes too, so this book benefits the children in so many ways.

The illustrations are bright and colourful and all the animals within the book are simple drawings that the children can easily recognise. The copy we have at work has been used so much that the flaps have been replaced with new ones and even that doesn't dim the children's enthusiasm towards the book. The love it just as much, and to them it is still a great book and will remain a favorite for years to come.

Oh how i love a good childrens book and this is no exception!! I have one of the original copies from when i was a little girl, mum has always brought this book for each of my siblings as they have had their own children as she's always said "you children loved this book more than any other"! So while i love to share this book with my children i work with, it is very much treasured and used for smaller group times with children aged 0 to five, no matter what the age, they all love it!

The flaps which hide the animals are easy enough for little hands to turn and while after 20 odd years the flaps may be starting to get a little worn, they are certainly made to last! In saying that i havent brought one of the new 25year addition books but i cant imagine they would be any worse, only better. I have also made a magnetic story from this which the older children are always using on the whiteboard, sticking the animals up and telling the story out loud ~ the great thing about this story is it doesnt matter if they get the order a bit jumbled up along the way as it still makes sense.

When you write to the zoo to send you a pet you never know what one you will get.... Unless of course your one of the children i teach and then you know every single page off by heart and are already calling out the animal noise before ive turned the page! Each page introduces a new pet hidden under a flap but each animal has a reason why it cant be a pet ~ this is a great element of the book introducing different characteristics of each animal to children. It ends with the zoo finally sending a puppy ~ which is just perfect to keep as a pet!

This simple and sweet book is one I would definitely recommend to others

I probably have one of the original copies of this book and given it's age it still has all the flaps as it has been so well cared for and treasured. It was my favourite story when I was younger, and was my daughter's favourite when she was young too and is just making a comeback in our house with my 9 month old. I have also used the book in my work as a childcare teacher. When you write to the zoo to send you a pet you never know what you will get. Each page introduces a new pet hidden under a flap, which for whatever reason turns out to be not quite right as a house pet, until the perfect pet finally arrives.

The story is simple and sweet, rhythmic and humorous I would say it is a must have picture book for young children. My son and other children I have cared for love the suspense of lifting the flap to see who is hiding underneath. I love books like this as it allows younger children to get involved in the story by lifting the flaps. It is a great introduction to Zoo animals and the children I have cared for love making the animal noises. It also helps them to learn a bit about the animals like the giraffe is tall, and the snake is slithery.

This is a perfect lap time story with your own children and is also a perfect mat time story for a group of children in childcare. My son absolutely loves our one on one time reading the story and I have learnt the story off by heart so I can read it aloud even when he turns the pages too quickly. A true classic and I hope to be able to continue to pass the book down to my grandchildren now.

I've just read Dear Zoo with my kids. Its a really neat little picture book. It has flaps that lift to reveal the animals in the book. The illustrations are simple, but bold. They look a little cartoony, but the animals are easy to recognise.

The language in the book is simple too. It makes it a quick read. Its also good for new readers. The story is clever, but the way it is written includes lots of repetition which helps little ones recognise the pattern. The simple words include lots of a first time reader's sight words too.

The only negative I saw was that the animals names didn't appear anywhere. But as the animals were easily recognisable, we just said what the zoo had sent. Another cool thing about the book is the descriptions of the animals. Its about moods/emotions which are great to talk about with kids as well. Helps them understand the words for feelings which is important for when they are interacting with others.

Hard to believe this book is 25 years old. But books like this are classics. It is a silly book which my kid found to be very funny. Its uncomplicated, and a great learning tool. Very re-readable, and can grow with your kids.

This is a favourite book with my in home care children, we read this regularly and I have a zoo in my lounge as I read this, the children know which animal comes next and sometimes get so excited the next animal sound is been made before the page is turned.

We have even had a production of the book by two 3 and 4 year olds much to the younger children's delight, who could 'help' with the storyline.

The book is still in very good condition for the amount of little hands that turn the the pages and a few of the flaps have only needed a bit of reinforcing with a bit of tape.

Miss 4 can even read the story along with me and I can tell the story by heart.

highly recommended story for the parents who want to have an adventure with their littlies from the comfort of home.

This book is one of our favourite and most repeatedly requested books. We have the hardcover 25th anniversary edition which is extremely hard-wearing. Both my preschoolers know the book off by heart which has assisted them in learning to read. It is very simple and catchy so children will very quickly start to recognise what comes next and be shouting out the words with excitement.

The story is delightfully simple and has lift up flaps for a variety of zoo animals in different holding containers ie cage for the lion , basket for the snake etc. This is a great book to grow with your child as you can begin with the animal noises then names and eventually your child will be reading the book to you. Definitely a timeless children's classic. Rod Campbell is a fantastic author and we love all of his books.

Dear Zoo has very quickly become a favourite book in our household, with Dear Zoo being frequently requested by my preschoolers at bedtime. The book is very appealing, and very readable for toddlers. The flaps on each page add to the appeal. Despite being read on numerous occasions, the flaps have withstood the attentions of two toddlers. The pages of the book are also quite strong, and the book has remained intact without any rips or creases.

The book includes pictures of a wide range of animals, and combines colourful pictures with short catchy paragraphs on each page. It is a great book to use when introducing young children to learning to read, as the bright pictures, and flaps capture their attention.

I would highly recommend Dear Zoo for parents of preschool children.

Our four boys absolutely love this book. We've lost a few flaps through enthusiasm and the number of times it's been read (but that doesn't mean the flaps are poor quality - they are pretty strong and almost waxy to deter ruffians!)

The different shapes and sizes of animals (and their boxes) appeals. Simple but very effective with a nice ending.

Probably best for ages 2 to 4, though the older ones still enjoy it.

This book has been a favourite of all 6 of our children and still resides on the bookcase slightly tattered and torn. This classic story will be around for many years and I can see myself reading it to my grandchildren when they come along. The story is simple but enchanting to little children as they get to peek behind the flaps and find the next colorful character. A well written and charming tale enjoyed by children and the adults who read to them.

This is a classic... and when I pulled it out of my bag at the centre I work in, half my kids were too busy telling me they had it at home to actually listen to me reading the story!

This is a simple story with wonderful drawings to capture little minds, and with the 'lift-it flaps' made to fit the pictures (cages, etc.) the children all love peeking under them to see the new animals.

This is the 25th annivesary of this book, and can see it still being around when I have grandchildren!