Wild About Books

by Judy Sierra, Marc Brown (Illustrator)

It started the summer of 2002, when the Springfield librarian, Molly McGrew, by mistake drove her bookmobile into the zoo.

In this rollicking rhymed story, Molly introduces birds and beasts to this new something called reading. She finds the perfect book for every animal--tall books for giraffes, tiny ones for crickets. "She even found waterproof books for the otter, who never went swimming without Harry Potter." In no time at all, Molly has them "forsaking their niches, their nests, and their nooks," going "wild, simply wild, about wonderful books." Judy Sierra's funny animal tale coupled with Marc Brown's lush, fanciful paintings will have the same effect on young Homo sapiens. Altogether, it's more fun than a barrel of monkeys!

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Books About Books, Storytime, Fiction, Poetry

40 pages, Hardcover

First published August 10, 2004

Reviews

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book deserves 5 stars, but I’m giving it 4 because I hate zoos and don’t want them shown in a positive (and unrealistic) light. But otherwise the story and definitely the illustrations deserve 5 stars.

The illustrations are fabulous: big, bold, colorful, appealing art style, lush and intricate, and funny too. I love how the crocodiles are reading Peter Pan, the elephant is reading Dumbo, the giraffes are reading books about basketball, etc. etc. etc.

The rhyme is about a librarian with a bookmobile who ends up at a zoo and is eventually able to entice the multitude of animals/animal species with books. They end up reading many books and some eventually start writing books too.

Both the author and illustrator dedicate the book to Theodor Seuss Geisel, which is fitting.

I adore the artwork. The story rhyme is very cute and clever. If only the animals had been wild or resided in a sanctuary park or were, at least in part, domesticated animals. But, that’s me. I realize most readers will not be at all perturbed and, while I’d have rather not had a zoo setting, I was still able to greatly enjoy the book.

This is a lovely book for children who like animals and books, reading and writing, or any of those. It’s also appropriate as a book to get kids interested in reading. Some of the books shown in the illustrations and mentioned in the rhyme will mean more to adults and older kids than to young children, but it’s all in great fun for everyone.

And even for readers who are fervently opposed to zoos, this story is wacky enough and so obviously a fantasy, that nobody should deliberately refrain from reading it.

[Crystal Marcos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I own this book and bought a copy for my sister and my nephew. We both really adore this book and so do our little ones. I revisited it again recently because of Doctor Seuss' birthday and I am a member in a Children's book group here on Goodreads where this month's theme is Librarians. Here is the group for anyone who loves Children's Books: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1...

Dedicated to the late Doctor Seuss, it is written in his rhyming likeness. A librarian mistakenly drives her bookmobile into the zoo and something spectacular happens to the animals! Marc Brown illustrated the picture book. I am already a fan. Now, I appreciate his work that much more. I just love the illustration of the hippo caressing a book and I smile right back at its enormous grin. The hippo had just won the Zooliter Prize after all! The illustrations are just fun! The story is wonderful, clever, and charming. I would gladly give this as a gift to a child, a parent, grandparents, a librarian, or a picture book lover. There are added touches in the illustrations and lots to look at that you really could read this over and over and find something new each time.

The book has animals, books, a librarian, and written in Seussian rhyme, how could you go wrong?

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What fun! I loved this story about a librarian who parks her bookmobile in the zoo, then proceeds to help the animals love books, find the stories they will like best, and understand how to treat books nicely. It's an absolute hoot and the text and illustrations both weave in many famous books; children will be familiar with some of them, and will probably giggle over the idea of otters reading Harry Potter, for example ;-) Sierra and Brown wrote this in honor of Dr. Seuss, and I think he would be pleased with the homage.

Note that even though this book takes place in a zoo, the animals seem very much in natural habitats, not in cages, so even those of you who do not like zoos may still enjoy this sweet, delightful tale.

[Kimberly Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

L ❤️ V E this book!

One of my favorite parts is when the insects scribbled haiku, and the scorpion gave each a ‘stinging’ review such as Pretentious, Stinks, Boring, and Redundant!


https://images.app.goo.gl/yLUMmFaFJCb...


Scroll down the page to see some of the scorpion’s reviews!

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 - It's hard to go wrong with a childrens book that has animals and books in it. Throw in some fun rhyming sentences and you have a winner in my house!
I haven't read the other book some reviewers have mentioned, Born to Read, and although just about everyone says this is better I think I'd like to and will, read it for myself to compare.
I wasn't in love with the illustrations myself but I can't say anything negative about this. I just would have preferred a different way personally. Julia didn't mind at all - she loved each page and made sure she didn't miss a thing on any of them.
We took out a huge stack of books from the library this week, so many that just about everyone walking past us gave us crazy looks, and out of them all this was probably the best.

Update - I have no clue why but this came in the mail today, addressed to Julia, from someone at the U of D. I'm very thankful but I can't figure out why or how it came....

[booklady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although Wild About Books came out before Born to Read I read them in reverse order--lucky me! ☺ Now I see why people who had read this first were disappointed with Judy Sierra's second book. I agree! This is better than Born to Read!

Really, really cute! The animals in the zoo create their own library by writing their own books. The story is told all in rhyme and I don't know which is cuter--the delightful pictures or the sweet, clever play-on-words!

An all around treat-to-read, for young and old!

Highly recommended!

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a rollicking rhyme - "It started the summer of 2002, / When the Springfield librarian, Molly McGrew, / by mistake drove her bookmobile into the zoo." - and exuberantly entertaining illustrations, Wild About Books is one picture-book that just begs to be read aloud! Slowly seduced by the power of story, and by the charms of storyteller Molly McGrew, the animal residents of the Springfield zoo eventually find themselves both bibliophiles and budding authors, a process which culminates in the construction of their very own "zoobrary."

Dedicated to the incomparable Dr. Seuss, and in much the same vein, this appealing title would make an excellent story-hour selection. I enjoyed the sing-song style of the text, which moves along at a nice clip, and boasts a rhyming scheme that reads very well, and never feels forced, and found the artwork by Marc Brown (creator of the Arthur books) quite appealing. Humorous and heartwarming, this is a book I would recommend to young bibliophiles and animal lovers, as well as to anyone looking for good children's stories for story-hour or bedtime reading.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm giving this five stars on behalf of my daughter, who is 21 months old and has demanded that we read her this book approximately 1000 times in the last two weeks. I shouldn't really complain too much, as my wife ended up having to read it probably 90% of the time, but I still read it many many times myself. Thankfully, it is now back at the library.
The rhymes are great and it is pretty funny. I especially like the part where the scorpion reviews all the other animals' books, and the hissing cockroach's book just says "Hiss hiss hiss, etc."
We did try to hide it after a while, but first thing every morning in comes B who says "Where animals book?" We tried to say we didn't know, but her brother, trying to be helpful..."I'll help you find it B! Look here it is, behind these other books!" Then in she toddles with it. "Read animals book." Sigh. Nice teamwork kids.
The takeaway, of course, is that kids appear to very much enjoy this book.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

H like this part... "the pandas demanded more books in Chinese, Molly filled their requests, always eager to please..."
fun book about bringing books to zoo animals who like to read.

[Steve Holden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today was our annual field trip day to the local zoo. Although I had no time to read a story to my kiddos today, I'm deciding to review this one for my daily picture book contribution. This was introduced to me in college, and I thought it was wonderfully done. It was written and illustrated as a tribute to the late Dr. Seuss. It combines animals and the love of reading - sounds like a perfect combination to me! Young students love spending time with this one for multiple reasons!

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful tale in honor of Dr. Seuss. Filled with a fun and rhyming narrative, busy and colorful pictures, and nods to several different books, this is a great book to read aloud. Our girls really enjoyed it.

[Amy Ingalls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful! I loved the mention of other books, such as when the constrictor squeezed Crictor too tight. My favorite, though, were the scorpion's stinging reviews of the haikus. I actually laughed out loud.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lively story written in prose about zoo animals falling in love with reading. A great read aloud book for home and the classroom!

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful homage to Dr. Seuss about a caring librarian who meets all the wishes of her Bookmobile patrons, who just happen to be zoo animals. It's hard to pick a favorite verse, but since I love Rowling, it would probably be: "She even found waterproof books for the otter, who never went swimming without Harry Potter.” By the end of the book, the animals have been so spurred to creativity by all their reading, that they become authors as well, resulting in a hilarious section of bug haiku. (Unfortunately, the "scorpion gave each a stinging review.") LOL. Don't miss this terrific book dedicated to the love of reading!

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The librarian goes to the zoo and begins to read to the animals who love it. The text is in verse which greatly enhances the story.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars--A strong rhyme bounces throughout this wacky and colorful book about a bunch of animals who are inspired to create their own library at the zoo.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book with beautiful animations.

[Henry X · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever

[Stanley Gajda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wild About Books by Judy Sierra provides a complex, (debatably) multicultural, quality picture book ideal for reading aloud. As a matter of fact, Wild About Books is an EB White Read Aloud Winner and an Erma Black Award Nominee! Although it has been marketed to Pre K – 2 and has a Lexile Measure of NP for non-prose, with a Fountas & Pinnell Level Gradient of N this book may be targeted for up to Grade 3 (i.e., depending on their reading level and with appropriate facilitation). All of the characters are animals with a variety of reading interests. That is, of course, except for the Caucasian protagonist. While anthropomorphized characters cannot begin to counter the lack of diversity in children’s books, they do provide a starting point. My recommendation for culturally responsive teaching is to invite all readers to watch and listen for the animals they identify with and then explain why. The book is beautifully illustrated. Your students will love it and so will you!

In Wild About Books, Judy Sierra tells the story of Librarian Molly McGrew who introduces all the animals of the zoo to reading. It all started when Molly drove her bookmobile into a zoo. The animals became fascinated by her reading aloud: “By reading aloud from the good Dr. Seuss, she quickly attracted a mink and a moose.” Before long, she finds even more animals "forsaking their niches, their nests, and their nooks" going "wild, simply wild, about wonderful books!" In fact, all the animals want to learn how to read! Like any good librarian, Molly helps each animal discover the perfect book for them (e.g., “The pandas demanded more books in Chinese.”). The animals even learn to write their own books (e.g., “As the cheetah’s new novel began to take shape, he read chapters each night to the Barbary ape.”). Ultimately, the animals help Molly open a “zoobrary” and pass on the joy of reading.

Wild About Books may be one of the best books from the Fantasy genre and one that will move students to seek out and read other fantasies. From a language arts perspective, the story provides a wonderful opportunity to convey the joy of reading and the difference reading can make. Questions I would ask in classroom discussion include “Why is reading important?” and “What are your favorite books to read or listen to? Why?” Wild About Books also provides an excellent resource for helping students understand rhythm and cadence. After a guided lesson, teachers may engage students in writing a rhyming story as a class. Doing so will speak directly to Common Core English Language Arts Standards for Reading Literature Grade 2 (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.4) “Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.” Visualization, art, and drawing may be incorporated as well. Teachers may also try reading the story without sharing the illustrations and, instead, invite students to visualize what’s happening and draw their own picture that encapsulates the plot. Finally, teachers may want to consider engaging students in a “Reader’s Theater” based on the book. Acting out plots has been shown to raise readers’ comprehension and engage them in higher level thinking about characterization (i.e., by asking how would my character think/act/behave?). For a complete lesson guide, visit https://www.dcmp.org/guides/%20TID626...

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had found this one a few months ago when tutoring my little guy. We studies the animals and this would have been the perfect book. It is full of witty & rolling rhymes about a librarian who mistakenly takes her bookmobile to the zoo. She finds the perfect book for every animal.

"By reading aloud from the good Dr. Seuss,
She quickly attracted a mink and a moose,
A wombat, an oryx, a lemur a lynx,
Eight elephant calves, and a family of skinks.

This book was illustrated by Marc Brown and is wonderful with all the little detail that has show up in his work.

Raccoons read alone and baboons read in bunches.
And llamas read dramas while eating their llunches.
Hyenas shared jokes with the red-bellied snakes,
and they howled and they hissed till their funny bones ached.

At the new insect zoo, bugs were scribbling haiku.
(The scorpion gave each a stinging review.)

Example:
The giant hissing cockroach wrote;

Hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss-
hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss-
Hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss.

The scorpion scowls "Redundant."

"This book is for our favorite doctor,
artists, poet, fun concocter:
Theodor Seuss Geisel, 1904-1991
---Judy Sierra and Marc Brown

Dr. Seuss' inspiration shines in this book.

[538am_Allison Nork · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a rhyming picture book that starts with librarian Molly driving her bookmobile into a zoo. She soon starts reading aloud and attracts all sorts of animals to this new thing called reading. This book offers a great explanation to children of why they sometimes may not see all the animals when they visit the zoo, they may be hiding away reading. Brown does a wonderful job filling all the pages with pictures to pull in the children and show examples of what animals they may have never seen look like. I think this book is great for kindergarten and first grade and getting students interested in reading. Wild About Animals will be a great book for read aloud and students can use their creativity to draw pictures and imagine what animals would look like reading some of their favorite stories. One critique I have of this book is that there are a few animals that most people are not familiar with. While these would be good places to stop and have the children explore new animals and what they look like and where they can be found, it could potentially break up the text. There are also some words that students will need more explanation about like niches and pretentious for example. This book was Booklist reviewed and won the ALA Notable Books for Children Award in 2005.

[Bridget R. Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

One day, the library's bookmobile makes an unplanned stop at the local zoo. Molly the librarian finds that the animals love reading. They devour books (sometimes literally). Their love of reading encourages a love of writing. Soon every animal at the zoo is an author. The animals' voracious love of books necessitates the building of a zoobrary.

What I thought: What a delightful book! The language is pleasing and the pictures are colorful. This is an imaginative way to introduce children to the delights of reading. Sierra and Brown dedicate the book to Dr. Seuss. I can hear him in the language of the book and see him in the illustrations. A fitting tribute and a great book. Every librarian should have a copy. This one's going on my to buy list.

[Nicolette · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this book very much but I see that it had a good point about how everyone likes different books and everyone is at their own level in reading and writing. This was represented by each and every one of the animals being unique in that they all liked different books and each of them was at a different level. This can teach kids to choose what they like and to not be discouraged if others dont like the same things or if others are at a more accelerated level of reading and writing.

[Bev · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as an app & it's just delightful, the story of a librarian who drives her bookmobile into a zoo & teaches the animals to read. I love the nods to other famous children's books i.e "The otter...who never went swimming without Harry Potter" illustrations are beautiful & colourful and the interactivity never takes you away from the main story.

[Terry]

This is so much fun … even after a year's time. The rhyming and alliteration keep it fresh, as do the imitated antics of the various characters.

To read our full review, go to the Reading Tub.

[Luann · Rating 4 out of 5]

How could I not love this book? The librarian Molly McGrew mistakenly drives her bookmobile into the zoo, but still finds the perfect book for everyone. She even has "waterproof books for the otter, who never went swimming without Harry Potter." :)

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute book. The kids read this book several times, laughing at some of the "poetry" on one page and the idea of animals reading books throughout, but overall pretty bland. A good way to keep up reading skills, but not a stupendous book by any means.

[Grant McAllister · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fortunate to have Marc Brown sign this book for my 18 month old son. It is one of my son's favorite books. It was dedicated to Dr. Seuss and is very fun to read out loud.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great children's book!! "Seuss"ian rhyme and Marc Brown's beautiful illustrations. You and your kids will be wild about this book.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, written in the style of Dr. Seuss, is clever enough to appeal to adults as well as children.