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My Dad at the Zoo by Coralie Saudo Book Review

My Dad at the Zoo by Coralie Saudo
Illustrations by Kris Di Giacomo
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Release Date: May 10, 2016

In a case of role reversal, one kid and his dad go to the zoo, but it is the dad who becomes a wild, pushy, childish hellion. First he drags his son out of bed, begging for a day at the zoo. He loses his hat while there, which must be the eight time this has happened and just isn't funny anymore. There's the playing around with the piranhas, obviously something that is dangerous and should never be done. And no zoo trip would be complete without a stop in the souvenir shop. That goes as well as you think it would.

The premise of this book is cute and one that I would have quite enjoyed as a kid. Especially since we went to the zoo often. The idea of the parent doing all the things that a kid would do and the kid getting frustrated by his dad's antics is a concept that I think really tickles a lot of kid's funny bones. It is also a subtle way of highlighting what good and bad behavior looks like. I've been seeing a lot of these French import books lately and I love them because they are certainly different from the normal picture book fair in tone and illustrations. I wasn't exactly a fan of this particular illustration style, but I appreciated how different it was and did enjoy how lively each page was. Sometimes it is fun to laugh at our parents and this one gives kids permission to do just that.




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