Poo in the Zoo by Steve Smallman and Ada Grey
| Poo in the Zoo by Steve Smallman and Ada Grey | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Ruth Ng
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| Summary: Perfectly poopy in every possible way! Deep breath, and get ready for toddler guffaws galore! | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: July 2015 |
| Publisher: Little Tiger Press | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9781848691384 | |
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If you’re one of those parents who really can’t stand farting jokes, or avoids nappy changing discussions with your peers at all costs then step away from this review now! This is a story that is made for families who enjoy a funny poo story, and who can bear a few armpit fart noises now and then! For this is a book that is entirely about poo, from start to finish, so make sure everyone who needs to be is in a nice clean nappy, then get ready for a treat of a read!
Little Bob McGrew is the zoo keeper, and it’s his job to clean up all the animals' poos. It’s not his favourite job, for obvious reasons, but off he goes around the zoo, cleaning up everyone’s poo! Unfortunately, when he gets to the Iguana he slips on a...wait for it...banana! And naughty Iguana makes a run for it and escapes! You may think to yourself that an Iguana is not that fast so Bob could easily run after him and catch him again but I am here to tell you that actually Iguanas are incredibly, eye-wateringly fast, having chased two escaped Iguanas around my friend’s back garden many years ago. We were both completely exhausted by the time we caught up with them! Anyway, speedy reptiles aside, we soon see that as well as eating most of the contents of the cafeteria naughty Iguana then gorges on several fireflies. Those little bugs turn out to be a snack too far, however, as Mister Iguana then needs an emergency poo and plops one out on the floor! However, when he sees the poo he has pooed he runs away back to his cage because it is a glow in the dark poo!
When Bob finds this glowing poo he is astonished, because no animal in the zoo has ever done a glowing poo before! It soon becomes a special exhibit in the zoo, as everyone wants to come and see the mysterious poo that has possibly come from outer space! Along comes a poo collector, who simply must have the glowing poo to add to his collection, so he buys it from Bob. Bob is then able to use the money to buy himself a robot pooper scooper (I could’ve done with one of those during potty training…) and life in the zoo becomes a whole lot easier for Bob thanks to the glowing poo!
You can probably tell by now that I really enjoyed this story! Of course, it probably goes without saying that it’s very silly, and you do have to say ‘poo’ quite a lot as you read it aloud. But it’s very funny, and utterly delightful for giggly toddlers who love a good poo story. It’s told in rhyme, and it’s a nice sing-song rhyme that flows really well as you read it. The story has a good pace, and I liked the plot, such as it is!
The pictures are delightful. Don’t worry, none of the poo looks horribly realistic so you won’t find yourself gagging as you read (unless you have a particularly sensitive stomach!) We actually spent quite a long time looking through the collection of poos on the two page spread at the start of the book, where all the poo is collected in jars and labelled. There’s everything from a stegosaurus poo to griffin doo doo and the poo of an ocelot! Older children will have fun looking at the many poos and discussing what on earth all those creatures are! In the story itself you can look forward to lots of bright, colourful pictures with very cute, yet still realistic-looking animals. I liked the wombat, and the anteater best.
I know this won’t suit everyone’s tastes, but this is just the sort of fun picture book that goes down a treat at playgroups and nurseries, and is wonderful for a rainy afternoon’s story time. Get ready for small people rolling around on the floor with laughter (and queries about whether their poo will glow if they eat any fireflies…)
Further reading suggestion: One of our family’s favourites, that my little boy comes back to again and again, is Dodo Doo Doo by Kaye Umansky and Korky Paul and for more delightful poo you know you want to try Peek-a-Poo - What's In Your Nappy? by Guido van Genechten.
Poo in the Zoo by Steve Smallman and Ada Grey is in the Top Ten Picture Books 2015.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Poo in the Zoo by Steve Smallman and Ada Grey at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Poo in the Zoo by Steve Smallman and Ada Grey at Amazon.com.
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