The Sacrameno Bee
The Young Library: Zoo friends: Get up close
Life-Size Zoo is not a typical oversized picture book, the kind kindergarten teachers and librarians read aloud to a young crowd. Life-Size Zoo (10.25 by 14.5 inches) is for grown-ups with children. Together they can pore over close-up portraits of 20 animals, from elephants to hedgehogs.
Many of these furry faces stretch across two pages. They appear close enough to pet – or not. The panda looks irresistible as he peers gently from his black-and-white face, but the tiger looks dangerous with his open mouth showing huge fangs and a pink sandpaper tongue.
Three faces in Life-Size Zoo – rhinoceros, elephant and giraffe – need four-page spreads, created by facing, foldout pages. Even then, theirs are partial portraits. The Asian elephant, named Pulee, appears from just to the right of her hairy ear hole to just left of her deep brown eye.
With each portrait is a panel of facts. Liner pages at both ends of the book show the animals in full, with more facts about their size and native country.
The fidelity of these full-color close-ups invites viewers to study details, such as the giraffe's long, curving tongue, the panda's cowlick and the rhino's hairy horn.
I do have two quibbles. Many of the animals have names, but readers won't find out where they live. The publisher's spokesman, Robert Kempe, said by phone from New York that it was decided, when translating the Japanese original, to omit the animals' zoos and wildlife parks because Americans wouldn't know them. The result is a bit disorienting. Also, instead of two pages showing where the animals live in a zoo, I would prefer a world map showing their native homes.
Nevertheless, Life-Size Zoo's beautiful photography and bouncy graphics promise hours of sharing and learning. More information at www.lifesizebooks.com.
–Judy Green
