March 1, 2016
Gr 1-3-Animal lovers will delight in this new beginner chapter book series featuring a young girl named Zoe, who has a secret ability to talk to and understand animals. She and her sidekick Meep, a mouse lemur, live in her great-uncle's zoo for rescued animals. In The Lonely Lion Cub, an orphaned cub comes to the zoo. Poor Rory is so lonely that he won't eat. It's up to Zoe to come up with a plan. She decides to pair the cub with the "grumpiest, growliest animal in the whole zoo," in the hopes that will they become friends and keep each other company. There is the expected happy resolution when Leonard the older lion accepts the cub because he, too, is lonely. In The Puzzled Penguin, a newly arrived penguin chick doesn't think she's a penguin, because she can't swim. Zoe comes to the rescue, helping Pip get over her fear by swimming with the chick herself. Each gentle tale features soft pencil illustrations throughout that depict warm and cuddly zoo animals and the intrepid Zoe. A generous font size and relatively short chapters make this series ideal for readers who like the "Animal Ark" or "Puppy Place" books (both Scholastic). VERDICT This exceedingly sweet series is an additional purchase for independent readers and animal lovers.-Ramarie Beaver, Plano Public Library System, TX
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