I am a huge fan of author Karma Wilson and am very happy that she is a rather prolific writer so I’m always on the look out for books that I haven’t checked out of the library. My daycare group, ages 2 – 7, enjoys her books as well and were delighted with Animal Strike at the Zoo.

The Story

What would happen if the animals at the zoo went on strike? This book shows just how boring it would be if the elephants refused to trumpet or lumber about. What if the monkey’s refused to monkey around and the zebra’s painted over their stripes.

Those silly giraffes are not any better.
“You won’t see our necks anymore!”
They’re knitting themselves lots of turtleneck sweaters,
Which go from their heads to the floor!

Poor little Sue finally made it to the zoo after a year of begging to go, only to find that the animals are on strike which causes her to start weeping. The animals seeing her sadness go totally wild and doing what animals do. Sweet little Sue is happy again, and the zookeeper is too!….But what about the animals at the circus?

The Illustrations

The bright and lively pastels on the pages of this book keep the listener intrigued as the animals are drawn to look like themselves but with a cartoon look as well.

There is an ample amount of silliness as the elephants lay on the page or the otters wear snorkels or we see the red and blue scarves on the giraffes.

The zookeeper has a bit of Jay Leno look to him with a very large chin but he also has a large nose as well (not Jay Leno, the zookeeper) and a very cartoon look too.

Some pages have a white background while other pages have either a solid color background or details that fit the scene of the page.

The text is a medium size black font that is easily seen on each of the pages. This book is easy to hold up and read to a class or of course nice when a child is sitting on your lap and listening.

Our Feelings

One of my favorite things about Karma Wilson books is the wonderful way she rhymes her stories. They never feel forced, but rather have an easy to read cadence that hold young children’s attention as the story is being read.

We had quite a few chuckles while reading this book because of all of the silly things the animals were doing. 6 year old Jake especially loved that the zebras wanted root beer floats! The silly level in this book is just right for keeping the attention of children 3 – 7 years old.

The silly story along with the cartoon like illustrations both work together to make this a book that is fun for children and really hold their attention as well. I did have to explain to them what a strike is but that expanded their knowledge rather than being a problem.

We all liked the clever ending, where the zoo animals were back to performing but on the last page we see that the bear at the circus won’t pedal his bike, he says he is on strike! This was a cute ending to a cute book that children enjoy.

Nuts & Bolts

Animal Strike at the Zoo was written by Karma Wilson, author of many, many wonderful children’s books.

This book was illustrated by Margaret Spengler, who has illustrated such books as Dawdle Duck, Little Loon and Papa and Storm is Coming.

HarperCollins Publishers published this 32 page hardcover book in 2006 with a jacket price of $15.99 US and $21.99 CAN.

ISBN: 0060575026

Other Karma Wilson Books I’ve Reviewed (can you tell I like this author?)


Bear Wants More

Bear Snores On

Bears New Friend

Bear Feels Sick

Bear Stays Up for Christmas

Bear Hugs

Whopper Cake

Moose Tracks

A Frog in the Bog

Dinos In the Snow

Mr. Murry and Thumpkin

Never, Ever Shout in a Zoo


Recommended: Yes