Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell is an adorable pop-up book about finding the perfect pet. Many times children visit the Zoo or the pet store and do not understand why their parents won’t allow them to have a certain animal. This book illustrates why some pets are simply not made for the home.
Up until 5th grade I always thought having a pet camel would be ideal. Well my aunt got a camel for her barn in Wisconsin when I was in 5th grade. I got to see him that year and he was not friendly. After that experience I understood why parents never let me get one and my dreams of getting a camel left. I decided I’d rather have something simple like a dog. Coincidently a camel is one of the pets the character in the book tries out and the camel is sent back because he is too grumpy.
Sometimes it is hard for children to understand why they cannot have something their way and it helps to explain why. This book is a good illustration to children on why it may not be so bad to have a dog, cat, or bird as a pet. Also the pop-up part of the book makes it fun for them to read!