Construction Zoo

by Jennifer Marie Thorne

This book is specially designed in Amazon's fixed-layout KF8 format with region magnification. Double-tap on an area of text to zoom and read.

It's a quiet morning at the zoo, until some strange new creatures roll in—trucks and bulldozers and wrecking balls! They're tumbling, digging, and roaring alongside the animals. Giraffe, rhino, the monkeys, and the tigers watch the new creatures and, soon, are playing with their new friends. It's party time at the Construction Zoo! But…what happens when the construction is over? Will the party be over, too? The clever rhyming text and simple, bold art will appeal to both kids and their parents.

Genres: Picture Books, Construction, Animals, Storytime, Childrens, Juvenile, Counting

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Jennifer Thorne is the author of Lute and Diavola (a USA Today bestseller), published by Tor/Nightfire. With Lee Kelly, she is co-author of The Antiquity Affair (2023) and The Starlets (2024), published by HarperMuse. As Jenn Marie Thorne, she is the author of the YA novels The Wrong Side of Right, The Inside of Out, and Night Music, and her short fiction appeared in the YA anthology Battle of the Bands. She is also the author of the picture book Construction Zoo. She received her BFA in Drama at NYU, and currently lives in Gloucestershire, England with her husband and two sons.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The five stars are for the illustrations, because OMG THEY ARE BEYOND CUTE!!!!!!!

[Laura McLoughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Animals + construction vehicles - what's not to like?

[Kaylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful

[Eliot Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rhyming story that teams up animals to their matching construction vehicle for comparison. A giraffe stretches it’s neck like a crane, a rhinoceros has a strong head like a bulldozer, monkeys dance like a wrecking ball, an elephant can scoop like an excavator, etc., all together to upgrade the zoo.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Construction equipment is heading for the zoo, and the animals are curious.

One of the things I liked about the book was the way the author illustratively compared some of the construction equipment with their likely counterparts at the zoo.

[Ryk Stanton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neither my son nor I was particularly impressed with this book, but he approves heartily of the subject matter. It just doesn’t seem particularly worthwhile. Less a passion project than someone publishing a book for money, if you understand.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm usually not charmed by rhyming kids' books, but the cadence of this one makes for a fun read-aloud for the target audience. Dual appeal of zoo animals and heavy equipment will hold any 4-year-old's attention! The illustrations could have been more captivating, but the style is unique.

[Becki Iverson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this for my son from the library and it's such a creative, cute book that marries several interests little kids have together. Much like Pirosaurs (another fave), I love when we can give kids an interdisciplinary story. Super cute read.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little rhyming book. Simplistic but clever.

[Erin Richards · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book that both animal and construction truck lovers will enjoy.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm always wary of mashups of popular kid topics (aliens loving dinopants?) because they feel really forced and gimmicky. This one is a lovely blend that gets it right!

[Syntha Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was only a matter of time before someone wrote a construction/zoo animal book. Here it is. Enjoy.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A construction crew comes to the zoo and the animals compare themselves to the machines. Very creative. Preschool and up for concept

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Irresistibly adorable illustrations!

[Bonnie Arriola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute rhyming book.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's something about construction books. I love them!

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are adorable in this book combining zoo animals and construction trucks. Kids enjoyed it. (With just a few lines of rhyming text, it’s a quick read.)

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable rhyming picture book with fantastic illustrations. It's my niece's all-time favorite, which is saying something, since she's a discriminating reader!

[kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute

[April Gain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun little book we used for baby storytime that pointed out the similarities in construction equipment and the animals... great pictures to look at with good contrast for little baby eyes!

[Villain E · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids love animals and construction equipment, so this is the perfect combination. There's some construction happening at the zoo and the aninals bond with the machines. Told in rhyme.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like that the animals at the zoo identify with one of the construction vehicles.

[Isaac · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I liked seeing the animals. Drew read this book to me." --Isaac, age 4

[Emily✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love comparing the animals to the construction vehicles. I stopped before the end (at the page that says, "It's party time at Construction Zoo!") when I read it for storytime.

[Cynthia June Long · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great text. Giraffe likes the tall crane etc.
Cutsy pictures; good for 1 on 1; too small for storytimes

[Arik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a perfect intersection of two of my kid’s biggest interests, so, yeah, he’s a fan.

[Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable story and fun illustrations

[Emily Storytime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love comparing the animals to the construction vehicles. I stopped before the end (at the page that says, "It's party time at Construction Zoo!") when I read it for storytime.

[Jurene · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a sweet way to combine the interests of multiple children. Our zoo is always under construction too!

[Miss Janis the Storytime Lady · Rating 2 out of 5]

okay. the illustrations don't do a lot for it; they're tough to identify because they're drawn to resemble the animals but not really. just a tough read-aloud.