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Reviewed by Amy M. O’Quinn for the National Writing for Children Center

Title: What’s New At the Zoo?
Author: Suzanne Slade
Illustrator: Joan Waites
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Sylvan Dell Publishing (June 10, 2009)
ISBN-10: 1607180383
ISBN-13: 978-1607180418

Want an easy way to introduce or reinforce basic addition while also getting a nature lesson to boot? Then check out Suzanne Slade’s fantastic book, What’s New At the Zoo?, one of Sylvan Dell’s Fall 2009 titles, for an educational, yet entertaining, resource.

What’s New At the Zoo? has the subtitle “An Animal Adding Adventure,” and young readers will indeed enjoy learning basic addition as they combine sets of different sets of zoo animals for a total sum on each full-color, two-page spread. They’ll also discover what the babies of various animals are called, what they eat, and about some of their activities.

The colorful illustrations and fun rhyming verses mesh together to create a first rate picture book—one that will have children eagerly turning pages. And at the end of the book, readers will be able to count the total number of animals featured at the zoo.

Sylvan Dell does an outstanding job of producing books that combine math and science concepts with an interesting story to carry the action or simply provide the background for the lessons that are taught or introduced. What’s New At The Zoo? is no exception.

And as always, the ‘For Creative Minds’ section at the back of the book provides extra activities and/or information. In fact, this particular book includes two methods of teaching addition, a section on using fact families, and an animal matching activity. But there are tons more resources and even ebook versions on the Sylvan Dell website at SylvanDellPublishing.com for this book and many more.

About the Author: Suzanne Slade is the author of more than sixty books for children, both fiction and non-fiction. One of her favorite parts of the writing process is researching and learning about new topics. Ms. Slade lives near Chicago with her husband, Mike, two children. You can visit her website at suzanneslade.com.

About the Illustrator: Joan Waites, a former neo-natal intensive care nurse, has been a freelance illustrator for over eighteen years. In addition to What’s New at the Zoo? Joan has illustrated nearly 40 books for the educational and trade marketplace. She is also an adjunct faculty member of The Corcoran Museum School of Art and Design in Washington, DC. Her website is joanwaites.com.

Visit Amy O’Quinn at amyoquinn.com or homeschoolblogger.com/picketfencemom.

I recently joined the team at BookPleasures.com as a reviewer. After my reviews are posted on BookPleasures.com, they will be posted on Amazon, Goodreads, EzinesArticles.com, AssociatedContent.com, and my sites.


A Review by Karen Cioffi, reviewer for BookPleasures.com
5 STARS

Title: What’s New t the Zoo? An Animal Adding Adventure
Author: Suzanne Slade
Illustrator; Joan Waites
Reading Level: 4-8
Publisher: Sylvan Dell Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-934359-93-8 (hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1-607180-38-8 (pbk.)

What’s New at the Zoo? takes the reader on an animal adding adventure. This learning zoo adventure begins: “Two hungry pandas eat a bamboo lunch. One cub joins the meal. How many crunch and munch? 2 + 1 = ?” Through delightful rhyming text and numerals Ms. Slade creates a wonderfully engaging learning experience for children. Each page offers a new addition problem.

Within the rhyming text Ms. Slade cleverly weaves information about animals and the names of the baby animals pictured. Did you know that a baby mammoth boa is called a neonate? But that’s not all: the illustrations are striking - they are vivid, realistic and elaborate. Children will love reading this entertaining and educational picture book, in fact, they may not even realize they’re learning in the process.

An added feature to this book is the “For Creative Minds” and “Animal Matching Activity” educational section in the back. It offers additional math problems and solutions as well as information on the animals mentioned in the book. It also explains the differences in the animal classes: mammals, birds and reptiles, and asks the reader to put each of the animals shown within the book into their correct class.

I read this book to my three-year-old grand son. He said his favorite part was the picture with the peacocks. I then had my eight-year-old great nephew read it to me while answering the addition questions. They both enjoyed this book as will all children within the intended age group and even those a little younger. I highly recommend What’s New at the Zoo?

About the author: Suzanne Slade is the author of over 60 books for children. Her works include picture books, and biographies, as well as many non-fiction titles about animals, sports, insects, planets, and various science topics. During an earlier engineering career, she worked on Delta rockets and designed automotive braking systems. Ms. Slade lives near Chicago with her husband, two children, and their tiny dog, Corduroy.

About the illustrator: Joan Waites spent 15 years as a neo-natal intensive care nurse prior to studying illustration and launching her freelance career. In addition to What’s New at the Zoo? Joan has illustrated nearly 40 books for the educational and trade marketplace. She is also an adjunct member of The Corcoran Museum School of Arts and Design in Washington, DC, where she teaches various children’s classes for the college’s Aspiring Artists programs.