What Do You Do If You Work at the Zoo?

by Steve Jenkins, Steve Jenkins (Illustrator), Robin Page

Overview

From Caldecott Honor–winning team Steve Jenkins and Robin Page comes an early introduction to one of young readers’ favorite places: the zoo!

Going to the zoo is so exciting! You might see penguins swimming underwater, snakes sunning in the reptile house, or giraffes eating leaves out of high trees. You might even see people at the zoo, ones just like you! But what do those people do?

Caldecott Honor–winning team Steve Jenkins and Robin Page introduce young readers to the people who keep zoo animals safe, healthy, and happy, even though they aren’t in the wild habitats they’ve evolved for. From cuddling a baby kangaroo to trimming elephant toenails to playing soccer with a rhino, zookeepers work hard and do some pretty wacky things to take care of the incredible animals we see.

So, what would you do if you were in the zookeeper’s shoes? Turn the page and find out!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544387591
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/28/2020
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	497,381
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 9.40(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	AD900L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Steve Jenkins wrote and illustrated many nonfiction picture books for young readers, including the Caldecott Honor Book What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? His books have been called stunning, eye-popping, inventive, gorgeous, masterful, extraordinary, playful, irresistible, compelling, engaging, accessible, glorious, and informative.

Steve Jenkins wrote and illustrated many nonfiction picture books for young readers, including the Caldecott Honor Book What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? His books have been called stunning, eye-popping, inventive, gorgeous, masterful, extraordinary, playful, irresistible, compelling, engaging, accessible, glorious, and informative.

Robin Page has worked on numerous bestselling and award-winning titles with her husband and collaborator, Steve Jenkins, including Caldecott Honor Book What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? She lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Editorial Reviews

"Delightful fare for animal lovers."—Kirkus  "Caldecott Honor Book collaborators Jenkins and Page describe some of the many tasks of zookeepers in this latest offering.... Clever, engaging, and always informative, this will be welcomed by animal-lovers and fans of this duo." —​Booklist "Textured collage illustrations bring the animals to life and create a sense of authenticity.... Young readers will learn about an underrepresented profession in this title, which also encourages a love of animals." —School Library Journal —

From the Publisher

03/01/2020

PreS-Gr 3—Jenkins and Page explain the duties of a zookeeper in a simple and intriguing way. Multiple zookeepers are shown in action but are only identified by their hands (varying skin colors are shown). Each page features a different animal accompanied by an informative paragraph. Readers will learn that a wild tapir rubs its body against a tree to remove ticks and that pandas eat almost nothing but bamboo. Zookeepers are also portrayed giving milk bottles to giraffes and manatees that may have been separated from their mothers by illness or natural disaster. Textured collage illustrations bring the animals to life and create a sense of authenticity. The back matter includes a historical time line, information on the world's top zoos, the pros and cons of zoos, and solid facts and statistics about each animal mentioned in the story. VERDICT Recommended for general purchase. Young readers will learn about an underrepresented profession in this title, which also encourages a love of animals.—Kristen Todd-Wurm, Middle Country Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

2020-01-12
A menagerie of facts about the many jobs to do at the zoo.

Jenkins and Page present readers with an amuse-bouche look at a zookeeper's day in this informational picture book. The premise greatly simplifies the many roles of a zoo's staff under the rubric "zookeeper" and follows several humans (depicted mostly as disembodied hands in a variety of skin tones) as they perform unusual tasks for birds, mammals, and reptiles. Each fact alone is fodder for a picture book. In short, second-person paragraphs, readers learn that joeys that must be raised without their mothers are carried in cloth pouches that emulate those of a kangaroo; that aardvark ears are sensitive to the sun and may require the application of sunscreen; and that hyenas enjoy frozen bloodsicles on hot days. The backmatter includes a brief timeline of zoo history, locations of and facts about notable zoos, pros and cons of keeping animals captive, and an additional paragraph of information about each animal discussed. Jenkins' collage illustrations will be familiar to fans, and the balance of image to white space is visually well suited for classroom or group readers. The facts are intriguing enough to prompt new animal enthusiasms among young readers, so educators and caregivers should be prepared to use this book as a springboard for further exploration.

Delightful fare for animal lovers. (Informational picture book. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews