Going to the Zoo: A Classic Musical Picture Book About Lively Zoo Animals for Kids

by Tom Paxton, Karen Lee Schmidt (Illustrator)

Now you can go along too, as Tom Paxton's classic song comes to life in this boisterous picture book. Rhythmic verse leads you through a wild kingdom where animals burst from every page. Monkeys are scritch, scritch, scratchin', and kangaroos are hop, hop, hoppin', making every moment an adventure. Karen Lee Schmidt's lively, irresistible illustrations show the animals up to all sorts of mischief. And with the easily played melodies included, this musical menagerie is every bit as fun as a trip to the zoo. Youngsters will want to "stay all day" -- and come back again and again!

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Music, Family, Fiction, Adventure

40 pages, Hardcover

First published April 26, 1996

Reviews

[Cindy Petzoldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Singing and/or chanting with young children is always a winner to me. The book’s cover opens to a simple piano piece that teaches you the song by Tom Paxton, the book’s author. And the colorful illustrations by Karen Lee Schmidt add just the right amount of whimsy. Preschoolers and young readers will enjoy identifying animals, what the zookeeper is doing, what the family members are feeling, and predicting what will happen next.

[Christina Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

February is learning about the city. The is a song book. In the very beginning, the notes to sing the song are included. Even if you don't know how to play any instrument or read sheet music, it is still a fun book to read. The illustrations are cute. Though when you think when the book is done, it just keeps going on.

[Esutterlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this song. Use this book for storytime about zoo animals esp.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best if sung like the Peter Paul and Mary song.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is contagious. I find myself wanting to complete all me sentences by repeating the last word two times. How about you, you, you?

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful word plays and pictures! So enjoyable!

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandmother used to sing this to us.

[Stacia · Rating 3 out of 5]

...the very last page got me! That piece was really cute.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a fun little song book. For a music class, this would be great. Just as a regular read book, it’s a little monotonous

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Paxton's silly song is brought to the pages of a children's book in pictures, and it's an all day outing at the zoo, zoo, zoo.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

No me sé la canción o el ritmo de esta canción, jaja... Pero las ilustraciones esta bonitas y puedes interactuar con poco con el libro, lo cual le gustó a mi hijo.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This song book has the same tune as Raffi's popular song, but the lyrics are a bit different. For example, Raffi's version says, "Look at all the monkeys swingin' in the trees," and Paxton's version is, "See all the monkeys scritch, scritch, scratchin'!" Kids who have memorized the Raffi version might be surprised at the change, but the song is fun with either lyrics. If you don't know the tune, and can't read the music printed in the back of the book, you will want to check it out on YouTube, because the catchy tune is part of what makes it so fun. Ages 2-6.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did really like it, the first 100 times I read it to Peter. I'm finding myself singing it faster each time to get through the book sooner. I love hearing Peter try to sing it as he plays. "zoo, zoo, zoo... you, you, you". One thing that I find interesting is that one of the pictures of the dad has the strap to the camera around his neck missing. :)

[Elizabeth S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd probably have enjoyed this book better if I knew the song. Reading books where the text is song-lyrics feels repetitious and dumb. The pictures were very clever and fun. My toddler enjoyed finding the zookeeper in each picture and laughing at what she was doing.

[Kaylen Matherly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute sing-along book about going to the zoo. If your class were taking a field trip to the zoo, this would be a good book to read. It would also get your class interacting with the book because they could sing along during the chorus.

[Roslyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my very favorite read-alouds for my grandson. We both love it! (Of course, we both love the zoo!)

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great fun to sing or speak with illustrations capturing personality of both animals and humans. Quite enjoyable and good for a group.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Use with Peter Paul and Mary's CD "Peter, Paul, and Mommy."

[Jaime Ann Sanborn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for a story time sing-along!

[Sandybear76]

It was Zoo Theme for the preschool classes today!! They enjoyed this story based on a song. We had a lot of fun with it.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preschool/Toddler

[Laura Z · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you can read music this book is probably much more fun, but since I can't the rhymes were very difficult to get the hang of. Very stilted so I wasn't enjoying the pictures much.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book to sing about zoo animals.

[Jody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't read music but found Tom Paxton's cd called Going to the Zoo or you can youtube it too. Very catchy tune and fun to sing with groups.

[Tara Mensing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sing along book! Great book for starting a new unit on animals or going on a field trip. It is predictable so kids can join in and sing with you!

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The large illustrations and rhyming story make this good for sharing with a group.

[Luciabbi Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luci picked this out from the library and she really liked it.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

silly---cute for little ones

[Angelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for zoo theme. Have children name the many items in the book (vocabulary). Check out the cat in the illustrations.

[Little Champs]

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