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Home > Books > Fiction > Children's Books > D Children's Books > Dear Zoo - Rod Campbell

User Reviews

for Dear Zoo - Rod Campbell

Rating Summary based on 11 reviews

  • 5 Stars
    		11
  • 4 Stars
    		0
  • 3 Stars
    		0
  • 2 Stars
    		0
  • 1 Star
    		0

Detailed rating

  • Characters
  • How does it compare to other works by the same author?
  • How does it compare to similar books?
  • Readability
  • Story
  		• 4.0
  		• 4.3
  		• 4.9
  		• 4.9
  		• 4.0

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  • 43 of 43 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Brownie_Queen

    Level 5 Brownie_Queen

    Member since 07/06/2010

    Reviews written: 100

    5 Stars I wrote to the zoo... (repeat x 100) 28/01/2013
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Simple story, lovely illustrations, fun for toddlers

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Slightly repetitive when reading multiple times

    Dear Zoo has been a favourite in this house for a few years now. My son had the classic hardback version of the book, with its simple story and flaps to lift which we always enjoyed reading together. My daughter was given the Dear Zoo Noisy Book last year and this is now a firm favourite for story time. She does tend to go through phases of preferring a certain book and this is one that has been the book of the moment several times now. I am reviewing the classic version of the book here. The Story In case you are unfamiliar with this modern classic for toddlers, Rod Campbell's book tells a ... more
  • 81 of 81 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of jillmurphy

    Level 8 jillmurphy

    Member since 08/07/2000

    Reviews written: 284

    5 Stars So Lions Do Have Big Cat Flaps 19/06/2002
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Pretty much anything my children say.

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Pretty much anything I say!

    Conor and Kieran are bigger now, and we don't read picture books so much any more. Sigh. Cue nostalgia. I love picture books, I think I'll have to find someone with a toddler that I can steal for an hour or two every once in a while so I've an excuse to keep reading them. Anyway, actually we did read one just last night, one of our favourites. Conor and Kieran should have been sleeping, it was late but it was a rather stuffy night and I could hear whispering from the stairs. "What's the matter? Why aren't you asleep?" "We just wanted to tell you something." I laughed to myself, because I ... more
  • 59 of 59 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Groovee

    Groovee

    5 Stars A story for all ages - Not just Mummy 02/04/2004
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Short, simple story.

    Disadvantages Disadvantages a bit too short and children wish it to be read over and over.

    One of the books I came across as a Nursery Nurse was Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell. All the rooms in the nursery used to fight over the book as the children loved it to be read at story time. The book is about someone looking for a pet, and starts off with "I wrote to the Zoo to send me a pet." Then you go through simple pages with flaps and underneath is an animal but there is always a reason why it is sent back. Until one day the zoo get it right and send out the perfect pet. This book is suitable for any age. It all depends on how you use it. For the babies I would read it on a one to one. I ... more
  • 34 of 34 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Popalee

    Popalee

    5 Stars When will my perfect pet arrive? 18/06/2007
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages short, encourages language development, fun

    Disadvantages Disadvantages hmm....

    Given that much of my working life is spent with the under 5's I have read this book more times than most people have had hot dinners, so you may be surprised to hear that I never get tired of it- yep, I'm a 31 year old woman and I am not ashamed to say that this simple book has a firm spot in my top 10 books of all time! What's it about? Our narrator has decided he (I'm saying he because the book is written in teh first person and is written by a man) wants a pet so he writes to the zoo. The zoo then helpfully begins sending him animals but they don't quite get it right so the animals are ... more
  • 25 of 25 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of cha97michelle

    Level 7 cha97michelle

    Member since 12/12/2005

    Reviews written: 545

    5 Stars I might have to practice my letter writing! 07/12/2011
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Repetitive, large text, cartoon pictures, easy to lift sturdy flaps

    Disadvantages Disadvantages bad monkey graphic in anniversary copy so avoid if you can

    Seems though it is nearly christmas I am spending time looking round the house for things to get rid of before the event and create space for the new stuff. One thing the boys won't part with is Dear Zoo. We have owned the book for a while having got a copy through the health visitor and bookstart when one of the boys had a health check. We get so many free books, some are brilliant and some are less good. This is a classic first published in 1982, and it is a goodie. We have owned 2 versions of the board book. One was an anniversary copy, and for some reason the pictures were all the same ... more
  • 33 of 33 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of oldchem

    oldchem

    5 Stars I have been writing to the Zoo for 20 years !! Review with images 07/10/2009
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages This is fast becoming a children's classic

    Disadvantages Disadvantages None at all

    DEAR ZOO ROD CAMPBELL I have been sorting out my spare bedroom ready for my grandkid’s October visit. Hence my latest dabble into reviewing children’s books. I have a shelf of books in there that I use to read to and with my grandchildren and which the older ones read themselves. An old favourite ( one that I first read to my daughter who is now 20) is ‘Dear Zoo’ by Rod Campbell. This isn’t actually the same book I read to my daughter and then my son, but is actually a 25th Anniversary board book addition I bought in 2007 when my original one fell into disrepair after many little fingers ... more
  • 26 of 26 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of sdwill

    sdwill

    5 Stars A Zooful of ideas 19/06/2002
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Simple, beautifully illustrated and fun

    Disadvantages Disadvantages none

    This is a charming little book by Rod Campbell. The author has written a number of books mainly for pre-school children, all with flaps or noises or touchy feely pages. His book Dear Zoo is on the National Curriculum reading list and was first published in 1982. It must have been quite an innovation then. Dear Zoo is written in the first person, it’s about writing a letter to the zoo asking them to send a pet. The zoo obliges and sends a variety of animals some of which are too big, tall, fierce, grumpy or scary. They are sent back and the story ends with a perfect choice being made! I won’t ... more
  • 28 of 28 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Deenar

    Deenar

    5 Stars I wrote to the zoo to ....................... 14/05/2004
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Read it for hours

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Read it for hours

    Send me a pet! Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell... Was Given to me by my sister in Law,It was about 3rd hand then! Her children had grown out of it and told me that my then 18 month old would love it. And she was right A Medium sized (just the right size for little hands) plain looking book with the picture of a Lion in a cage on the front.With big letters DEAR ZOO. Page by page your lift the flap to see what the Zoo have sent as a pet. I won't say im artistic or even dramatic(or though my husband would beg to differ on the last point!) But when the book is produced to be read by my now 4yr old and ... more
  • 11 of 16 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of tanyask

    tanyask

    5 Stars Dear Zoo - Rod Campbell 10/03/2006
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Fun and exciting book for young children - fab.

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Watch out for those flaps - easy to tear!!!!

    A charming and fun book - make the noises of the animals and entertain your children. Thorougly enjoyable a real must for any book collection of young children. LIft the flaps and see what the zoo has sent - the perfect pet - in the end!!!!!! Just watch out for those flaps - ours are sellotaped and rather dogged ear - not a book to be kept for best as will be read and re-read and played with. Great for a present from very young to about two years as the hard back pages can be chewed by the very young or cared for by the slightly older children. Both my boys have enjoyed this book thoroughly ... more
  • 1 of 6 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of JadeSarah

    Level 1 JadeSarah

    Member since 31/05/2012

    Reviews written: 4

    5 Stars "Dear Zoo", A Lovely Picture Book 31/05/2012
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Great for toddlers: bright, colorful pictures, interactive, simple language

    Disadvantages Disadvantages None!

    "Dear Zoo" is a lovely picture book. I used to love it when I was a toddler and my three younger siblings each loved in when it was passed on to them. It's a very simple interactive book aimed at very young children. At the beginning of the book a child writes to the zoo and asks them to send them a pet, the zoo responds and you open a flap to find out what they've sent. The animal is, however, deemed "Too.." something and is sent back, so the zoo tries again and so on. Animals are deemed, "Too Big", "Too Cheeky", "Too Small" and so on until at last the right pet is found. The language is ... more
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