Great Zoo Books

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle

A mirror of the popular Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, this book is full of zoo animals done in Eric Carle's signature collage style. With great adjectives like "trumpeting", "snarling", and "hissing" and an ending scene of children acting out their favorite animals, this is a book sure to get you off your feet and playing




Never, Ever Shout in a Zoo by Karma Wilson

One little girl's shout sets off a disastrous cause and affect string of events. With expressive water color illustrations and plenty of rhyme, repetition, and alliteration this was always the first and last book Zeke wanted to read.


My Heart is Like A Zoo by Michael Hall

I'm not usually fond of digitally illustrated picture books, call me snooty that way, but this one, with each animal crafted using hearts, stole my heart away. Sweet and simple rhymes about feelings both good "brave as a lion" and bad "snappy as a crab" finish it off.





Good Night Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
As a family who's little ones often sneak into our bed after the lights go out, this sweet story of a gorilla who lets all the animals loose to quietly sneak into the zookeepers room to sleep was particularly recognizable. Details like the pink balloon drifting farther and farther away with each page, and the toys each animal has in its cage made this a book I was willing to read again and again.