When Lulu Went to the Zoo - Hardcover

Ellis, Andy

3.27

91 ratings by Goodreads

9780761354994: When Lulu Went to the Zoo

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0761354999 ISBN 13: 9780761354994

Publisher: Andersen Pr USA, 2010

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Believing the animals at the zoo to be unhappy in their cages, Lulu sneaks all the animals into her house but has trouble making room, a situation that prompts her to devise a creative solution.

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About the Author:

Andy grew up in the country. He ran a bit wild until his parents caught him and suggested that it might be a good idea if he learned to read. After that, whenever his poor parents could get him to sit still, he would draw on pieces of paper. He showed some drawings to a college and they said he could practice drawing there if he liked. Next he showed some of his pictures to an animation company, who also did comic-strips. Andy drew comic-strips. Then he showed them to book publishers who asked Andy to draw books for them. They even paid him to do it! One or two of the braver ones asked him to have a go at writing, too! Sometimes Andy has ideas. Once Andy had half an idea. Luckily, the person who had the other half of the idea ran an animation company. So Andy's half an idea was turned into an animation series. When Andy isn't writing or drawing, he makes large, mournful landscapes and sometimes large, mournful people buy them to put on their walls. Andy lives in a big city, called London, with his wife, Mary, who is also a writer, and his two children, Matilda and Tabitha. They all make Andy laugh and Andy makes them laugh right back. When not writing, or drawing, or making landscapes, Andy can be seen cycling about the place and staring off into space. If you didn't know him better, you might think there was nothing in his head at all.

From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-Grade 1—Ellis's engaging illustrations outshine the text in this uninspired offering. Lulu, who is "two times two," goes to the zoo, decides that the animals should be free, and sneaks them all home to live with her. But it's an impractical solution, and the zookeepers find them. She convinces them that the animals should go live in Lululand, "a place where each of the animals had oodles of space." The story lacks subtlety as well as logic. The text does not scan well, the rhymes strain with words like "saw" and "door" paired, and the page turns are awkwardly paced. The plot is thin at best. The idea of a child realizing that zoo animals should be free is a worthy one, but the far-fetched, almost magical solution here detracts from the seriousness of the issue. All of this is unfortunate, because the artwork is really worth the time. Lulu, a genial tyke, is expressive in her cartoonish simplicity, and the appealing animals are easily identifiable and cuddly, yet not overly cute. The pictures are packed with humorous details that would keep little ones turning back. However, none of this is enough to save the pedestrian text.—Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT
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