Mr. Peek and the Misunderstanding at the Zoo

K-Gr 2 Poor Mr. Peek thinks he has suddenly gained a tremendous amount of weight when he puts on his zookeeper jacket and a button pops off. As he makes his morning rounds, he complains to himself about how fat and wrinkled he is. "Oh, woe is me! You're getting very fat," he despairs aloud. "None of the animals even like you!" he mutters as he passes the giraffes. He is so sorry for himself that he does not notice that the zoo animals are worried because they think he is talking to them. Luckily, he returns home to discover that he had inadvertently switched jackets with his son. Feeling better now that his clothes fit, Mr. Peek makes his rounds again, this time reassuring himself (and the relieved animals) that everything is fine. Waldron's digital-media illustrations humorously convey the alarmed expressions of the animals while the quirky font and creative text placement reinforce Mr. Peek's stream-of-consciousness muttering as he wanders through the zoo. Pair this with Peggy Rathman's "Good Night, Gorilla" (Putnam, 2002) for a fun storytime about clueless zookeepers."Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.