Zoo-Looking by Mem Fox and Illustrated by Candace Whitman

I found this to be simplistic in form. It had a singsong feel and would seem to be engaging for younger children. Children under the age of 7 would enjoy this book very much. One theme that Mem Fox likes to put into her books is “loving relationships.” She ends most of her books with a mother and daughter kissing goodnight or saying I love you too or as in this book, a father smiling back. She captures the child’s need to be loved. Even they did not have a father whatever father figure in their life would be smiling back at them. She also ends it without telling the reader too much. Instead of saying Flora’s father loved her dearly she simply states that he smiles. She uses this tiny detail to get the more serious undertone across. This marks a brilliant writer. Fox certainly seems to know how to write for little children so they can be the expert. Her words are simple at times but do not tell everything allowing the child to become the export and avoid condescending undertones. She also uses words that sound like they should. For instance there is a point in the text where she uses the word “whack.” This allows the child to laugh as they hear the sound and understand its meaning.

The illustrations in this book are a mastery in true form. They give the appearance of almost child-like drawing but with the decision of a true artist. For instance in the scene at the end, Whitman uses complementary colors to give a sense of unity for the work. The shapes make the work seem almost fuzzy in places. Whitman’s gorilla makes him look more like a stuffed animal than an actual breathing gorilla. These childlike shapes help them become more relatable to small children who might shy away from a real gorilla.

I would only use this book in classrooms of preschool and kindergarten to read to the entire class. However, I would only allow it to be read independently with the upper grades such as second or third, as well as, kindergarten and preschool as long as it was the right book for them individually. This book could begin to help them with predicting. As the patterns ends with almost every other page’s text using the words “looked back” the children would be able to say it with me; building community and other 21^st century skills.
Published: 1996