A fussy child wants a new pet! (Dear Zoo: Lift the Flaps - Rod Campbell)

Member Name: Claribella

Product:	Dear Zoo: Lift the Flaps - Rod Campbell
Date:	07/07/09 (33 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lift the flaps

Disadvantages: the flaps can get torn easily

Dear Zoo is a book aimed at children and it's written by the famous children's author, Rod Campbell.

The story tells of a young boy who writes to the zoo asking for a pet. They send him lots of different animals but each time he sends it back because of different reasons. Will he finally get a pet that he likes in the end?

The book is very simple and there are hardly any words on each page. The text is bold and very easy to read. The pages aren't filled with lots of drawing and instead have just one picture in the middle of the page which draws the reader and listener.

The main 'draw' of the book is the fact that each page has a little flap to lift up. When the zoo sends the boy a different animal, it comes in a box or carrier and when you lift the picture, the animal is revealed underneath. This is great for little ones because it helps with the fine motor skills that they are just developing and there is also a surprise element to the whole thing.

This book is great for discussing different animals and the sounds they make. Elijah is ten months so just on the road to that sort of thing so we read it making a big emphasis on the noises the animals make.

The other thing that this book is good for and also makes it a learning experience for Noah is the fact that the animals are sent back because they are either too tall, too small or something a long those lines. I try to encourage Noah to tell me why the animal would be send back so he is learning an awareness of size and shape.

This book is a simple yet very effective one that is great for both of my boys despite the 19 month age gap between the two. The both enjoy turning the pages, lifting the flaps and looking at the illustrations which are very cute.

This book comes highly recommended from me!

Summary: A great little read!