‘Twas the Day Before Zoo Day by Catherine Ipcizade is a fun story all about going to the zoo written in the same poetic form of the famous story, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. All the zoo animals and keepers are working to get the zoo ready for zoo day when all the kids will be there to visit. Each animal has to be bathed and everyone needs to be feed. The zoo keepers work hard to get everything done and while doing so we all get to learn a few facts about the zoo animals featured in the book.

“Soon the kids would arrive; their cameras they’d bring. The monkeys-they practiced to dance and to sing. Kids like to watch monkeys, and everyone knows, that monkeys, like children, hang down from their toes.”

Following the zoo keepers through the book was great fun. Catherine Ipcizade does a really good job illustrating the playfulness of the animals right along with all the hard work it takes to get ready for all the kids and families that come on zoo day. From warning the llamas not to spit because it’s just rude to the zebras that were bored with their stripes and wanted spots instead, the book definitely keeps the kids’ attention without a problem. Which is great because while it may not seem like it, but each animal that is written about in the story, the information used is all very factual about each one.

“The rhinos were lazy and didn’t roam far. Did you know rhinos weigh as much as a car? And the African meerkats watch from their dens, while nibbling on bugs, huddled close to their friends.”

As an added bonus to this wonderful story, everyone that gets their hands on it have the option to use the three-page For Creative Minds education supplement found in the back of the book. All the permissions to reprint are in the book. So parents and teachers feel free to copy away to work with your kids and all the accuracy of the information in the book has been verified by Norah Farnham of the American Association of Zoo Keepers. Activities included are:

• Animal Adaptation Matching Activity


• An animal fun facts chart


• All about zoo Keepers


• Creative Sparks: Imagine you are a zoo keeper

There is also a free on-line learning/teaching activity for all to use as well either at home or in the classroom. The on-lie activities include:

• Before and after reading questions


• Language Arts


• Science


• Math


• Research and Geography


• Bingo Game


• All the activities can be found at www.SylvanDellPublishing.com. Take a look at the site as there are many different links with a variety of learning activities to do and share. There is even a special tab on the page made just for “Teachers and Librarians” at the top. Each activity has been aligned to national and various state science and math standards. This is the perfect book complete with fun stuff to do before your next zoo day. Take a minute and head down to your local library and check it out.