Dear Zoo: Lift the Flaps

As well as being great fun it is also educational, teaching children concepts such as "too tall" and "too grumpy" as well teaching them why zoo animals cannot be kept as pets. Children very quickly learn the order the animals appear in, and the anticipation adds to their enjoyment of this classic book.


Dear Zoo   January 27, 2006
Owl (Scotland)
26 out of 26 found this review helpful

I have used this book for many years with different ages of preschool children who have all enjoyed trying to guess what animal is under the flaps.

I think it not only encourages animal recognition, but animal sounds and size. It is a useful addition to any bookshelf as the children enjoy the text and can then pretend to read the book but adding in the words "I wrote to the zoo etc."

I would recommend this book to any preschool setting and I am sure the children will get lots of enjoyment as the children I have used this book with. It is probably one of the childrens favourite books.


My son's first and favourite   March 18, 2008
sam155 (Wales)
18 out of 18 found this review helpful

I first heard the story told on Cbeebies story time. I re-enacted it much to my son's amusement and we bought the book at the earliest opportunity. Its a great book with a simply premise- several pets are sent by the zoo and all are unsuitable until the last one "he was perfect. I kept him". Its a lift the flap book with just enough text to keep their attention on each page. The illustrations are simple and bold and the book presents opportunities to talk about proportions and appearances and of course, to make funny animal noises. My son, in his enthusiasm, has wrecked the first one we bought him and we are going to have to buy a new one. That's how much he loves it. Since this book, he has really learnt to enjoy books as a one to one activity with me, which makes me really happy.


Excellent.   December 11, 2007
V. Mccourt (North Lincs)
15 out of 15 found this review helpful

This was a book given to my daughter for her first birthday. It was a favourite for a long time and has done a lot for promoting her language development. The pictures are lovely. The book is sturdy and unlike some flap books, they do not easily pull off.