Review: Zoozical

Zoozical
By Judy Sierra, illustrated by Marc Brown
Expected publication August 9, 2011 by Random House Children's Books

Wild About Books is one of my favorite picture books, so I was excited to see this new story about the animals of the zoo. It's winter and no one is going to the zoo; even the animals are a little bit down in the dumps. But then, a jumping hippo and a hoppy kangaroo wake up everyone and decide to put on a zoozical! I didn't like this one as much as the first book. Some of the rhymes didn't flow as well - the first one is such a great read-aloud and I feel like I would need to practice more with this one so I didn't stumble over the rhythm. Also, the story didn't tug at my heartstrings quite as much - after all, the first one is about the animals learning to read and discovering the magic of books. And, though I do love musicals, this one didn't hit quite as close to home as the first. However, the illustrations are absolutely adorable - they really make the whole book for me. They have a soft quality that just warms the heart. An adorable story that I think children will love.