The Zoo I Drew - Hardcover

Todd H. Doodler is a professional doodler. His doodles can be seen on clothing, paintings, as cartoons, and in fun books. The Zoo I Drew is his first book for children. He divides his time between the sunny states of Florida and California.

PreSchool-Grade 1—This playful alphabet offering combines bold artwork with rhyming, conversational text to muse about a variety of zoo residents. The cover, with its corrugated texture and an illustration of a giraffe equaled in height by a stack of turtles, invites readers to peer inside. Large graphic-style cartoon images of the animals, presented against solid-colored backdrops, fill the pages. Though the (sometimes awkward) verses offer a smattering of facts about each critter, they lean more toward the whimsical and occasionally encourage readers to think beyond the pictures. For example, a unicorn is included, but the author admits that it "...wasn't really at the zoo./i'm just seeing if you're paying attention,/so i played a trick on you!" He also ponders why a vulture, with its "bald, wrinkled head," doesn't "wear a wig" and comments seriously about fox fur coats. The entry for "X" cleverly skirts the issue: "i couldn't find an animal for x,/so instead i grabbed a quick snack" (a plate of cookies that is immediately consumed by the next animal, a yak). An additional purchase.—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services Plano ISD, TX
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