The Midnight Zoo

Twelve-year-old Andrej, nine-year-old Tomas, and their baby sister Wilma flee their Romany encampment when it is attacked by Germans during World War II, and in an abandoned town they find a zoo where the animals tell their stories, helping the children understand what has become of their lives and what it means to be free.

The Giant Wheel

One day a ferris wheel appears next door to the zoo, and the animals can’t wait to try it out. At night, they slip out of  their cages and one by one, they climb into the gondolas to enjoy the view–but never did they dream they would see so far.

A Sick Day For Amos Mcgee

THE BEST SICK DAY EVER and the animals in the zoo feature in this striking picture book debut. Friends come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. In Amos McGee’s case, all sorts of species, too! Every day he spends a little bit of time with each of his friends at the zoo, running races with the tortoise, keeping the shy penguin company, and even reading bedtime stories to the owl. But when Amos is too sick to make it to the zoo, his animal friends decide it’s time they returned the favor.

Strange Creatures

Walter, the son of Lady Emma and Lord Nathan Rothschild, was a very unusual boy. He was born in 1868 to a family of bankers and was nearly the richest boy in the world. But that’s not what made him unusual. Walter was so shy he barely spoke. He had no friends, but he loved every creature that crawled, slithered or flew.  At the age of seven he saw his first circus and was inspired to declare breathlessly to his parents: “I’m going to collect animals from all over the world and build a museum and I’m going to call it My Museum!” The family knew explorers who traveled the world to bring back animals for the London Zoo, and soon Walter had his first exotic creatures: several kangaroos. From there his collection grew and grew, until it threatened to take over the Rothschild estate. Lord Rothschild eventually lost patience with Walter’s hobby and insisted that Walter become a banker, like everyone else in the family. Reluctantly, Walter obeyed, but his dream couldn’t be dimmed–he used his earnings to purchase species from undiscovered lands.  Eventually Walter created the largest zoological collection gathered by one man and was respected throughout the world for his contribution to science. He wrote 1200 books and scientific papers and named 5000 new species. Animals that now bear the name Rothschild include butterflies, fish, a millipede, a fly, a lizard, a porcupine, a wallaby, a bird of paradise, and even a giraffe. The painfully shy boy who never made a good banker forever changed our understanding of the world’s diversity of creatures.

Eye of the Wolf

Daniel Pennac’s fable of a boy and a wolf who dare to meet each other’s gaze unfolds with humor, poignancy, and philosophical resonance. They were born worlds apart, the wolf from the Far North and the boy from Yellow Africa. Now all that separates them is a cage at the zoo. The wolf has lost much on his journey, including an eye and his beloved pack. But when he finally consents to trust the strange, still little boy who has been watching him, to meet his eye, their lives intersect with unforgettable results. Master storyteller Daniel Pennac weaves the events of two lives into a mythic tapestry that ultimately and magnificently reveals the fellowship of all creatures. Ten illustrations by Max Grafe enhance this fabulous translation from the French.

When We Went To The Zoo

When Jan Ormerod takes a family to the zoo, they sing “hi-de-hi-de-ho, the elephant is so slow.” They see a pelican yawn. They laugh at an orangutan in a paper bag. But in the end, what they like best isn’t a zoo animal at all. It’s the simple, special sight of sparrows building a nest. The glowing illustrations make a trip to the zoo something to be remembered. Full-color illustrations.