The Zoo: The Inside Story

by Jawnie Payne, Neon Squid Narrated by Melinda Sewak

Overview

Find out what goes on behind the scenes at a zoo in this nonfiction audiobook by zookeeper and TikTok sensation Jawnie Payne.

The Zoo features sound design and special effects to enhance your listening enjoyment. Listen out for calls of the flamingos and chattering monkeys!

This gentle story is a perfect gift for kids who love animals or are going on a trip to the zoo. It follows the exploits of several characters over the course of a busy day-including zookeepers, a school trip, and some very mischievous animals! Along the way listeners will discover how the creatures are fed and kept entertained, as well as what goes on once the zoo shuts for the day!

By the end of the audiobook kids will have a newfound respect for all of the work that goes on to make every zoo experience memorable.

A Macmillan Audio production from Neon Squid.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"A zoo employee herself with a viral following, Payne leads young visitors through a typical day at a generic zoological park... Readers may be surprised at the amount of training zoo animals receive; some are taught to station (or position) themselves a certain way to be X-rayed, to present paws for inspection, or to open their mouths at a hand gesture for dental exams... A wide-ranging zoological overview." —Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

2025-05-16
A behind-the-scenes zoo tour, with introductions to a variety of animals and the workers charged with keeping them fed, healthy, and happy.

A zoo employee herself with a viral following, Payne leads young visitors through a typical day at a generic zoological park, from an early planning meeting and a morning spent shoveling giraffe poop to a quick jaunt to the nursery (“one of the most popular places in the zoo”) and a night guard’s view of snoozing wildlife on a multiscreen display. In between, she offers glimpses of dozens of residents from aardvarks to sea turtles, which Deming depicts with reasonable fidelity, though many seem to smile or bear anthropomorphic expressions. Payne underscores the work that zoos do with rescued and rare animals. Readers may be surprised at the amount of training zoo animals receive; some are taught to station (or position) themselves a certain way to be X-rayed, to present paws for inspection, or to open their mouths at a hand gesture for dental exams. The racially and culturally diverse human cast includes groups of visitors but focuses mostly on workers and their tasks, from feeding and providing toys or other stimulation to tending the gift shop and running outreach programs.

A wide-ranging zoological overview. (glossary, index)(Nonfiction. 6-8)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940192185537
Publisher:	Macmillan Audio
Publication date:	09/09/2025
Series:	The Inside Story
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

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