At the beginning of the book, we meet Molly. She is a librarian what accidentally drove her bookmobile to the zoo. The animals were not interested at first, but after reading them some Dr. Seuss, she got some interest. Then she got to whole zoo to want to read. The different animals liked to read different things. Some animals even got interested in writing. The tasmanian devils began to write books while the bugs were writing haikus. They even started a contest where the hippo won the zoolitzer prize. They soon built the zoolibrary. The books ends with people visiting the zoo to see these reading animals.

I thought that this book was very creative. It was an original idea and I was not bored while reading it. I liked the pictures and thought they did a good job telling the story. I would recommend this book!

I could use this book in my classroom to talk about animals. There a new animal on every page so we could talk about what they are and what sounds they make. I could also promote reading by talking how much the animals in the story loved it.

So much fun! The rhymes and poetry are fabulous. Some parts of the story are a bit advanced for K and 1, but over all, it's such a fun story that I don't mind at all!

I read this to the 13 yr old girl with special needs that I care for. She found it hilarious! I used it as an opportunity to look up the different animals and show them to her in the real world setting. Also, I didn't know there was such a thing as bookmobiles!

It's not often that I read and review a picture book. This one was so charming that I had to yell it from the rooftops. I bought it as a Christmas gift for a grandnephew who loves to read. (It's so good that I'm tempted to keep it) Pictures are clever and the writing (in rhyme) harks back to Dr Seuss. Indeed, the book takes place at the Springfield Mass. zoo which is the very place that inspired the good doctor. Enchanting and lovely!

In the summer of 2002 Molly the librarian takes books to a place they have never been before, the zoo. The animals held on to every last word Molly read aloud to them. Instead of having the animals eating out of her hands, she had them reading out of her hands. With all the different animals and colors painted in this book it really brings it to life. I used to read to my animals when I was little and this story had me wanting to do that again. It's a fu light hearted book that will make you wild about reading from now on.

As Molly McGrew began her journey into literature she was accompanied by various friendly faces. This engaging book mesmerizes the audience in an exotic adventure. The rhyme scheme that Judy Sierra utilizes allows children to relate in a way that they find comedic and amusing for their adolescence. Also, the personification throughout the book enables the children to explore their developing imaginations. Overall, the message of Sierra's book inspires children to read because of animals' irresistible charm for children. The colors captivate the children because they will inevitably be drawn by the vividness of the colors. Additionally upon the color, including the text in the middle of the page allows children to not only look at the words, but to also look at the page full of illustrations. Albeit, it has been awhile since I have read a children's book and this book was a nice visit back to childhood due to its rhyme scheme and diverse display of various animals.

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...

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!

This homage to Dr. Seuss is a delightful rhyming romp through the zoo as the animals discover a love of book in their many forms. Playful, colorful and a pure delight.

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....

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.

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.