Do Kangaroos Wear Seat Belts?

by Jane Kurtz, Jane Manning (Illustrations)

Great for preschoolers and those discussions about seat belts.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Family, Childrens, Juvenile, Storytime, School

32 pages, Hardcover

Published February 3, 2005

About the author

Jane Kurtz was born in Portland, Oregon, but when she was two years old, her parents moved to Ethiopia. Jane grew up in Maji, a small town in the southwest corner of the country.
Since there were no televisions, radios, or movies, her memories are of climbing mountains, wading in rivers by the waterfalls, listening to stories, and making up her own stories, which she and her sisters acted out for days at a time.


That love of nature has recently inspired her to write books about loving the Earth--such as WHAT DO THEY DO WITH ALL THAT POO? and PLANET JUPITER.

Jane has published more than 40 books, fiction, nonfiction, picture books, novels for young readers, and ready-to-reads. Some are based on her childhood in Ethiopia. Some draw on her own children, such as ANNA WAS HERE, a novel for young readers that asks life's big questions about pain and disaster--and offers a few puny answers.

Since her childhood in Ethiopia, Jane has lived in Illinois, Colorado, North Dakota, Kansas and--now--back in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

During a visit to the zoo with his mother, a young boy asks his mom, if kangaroos, and other baby animals have to wear seats like he did on the drive to the zoo. This rhyming, humorous, yet gentle look a child safety is explained using different animals as examples.

[Vivian Madrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre:Fiction
Connection: Text-to-Teaching

This book is great for Pre- to 5th grade. This light-hearted comedy shares an exchange between mother and son. This book can help students learn animal names. Students can learn how to spell several new words such as, slippery, cavorting, or prowl. They can use this book as an example of drawing animals with their young. Students can share their experiences of what they saw at the zoo trip.

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about a boy who asks his mom a lot of questions and when she answers, she always uses animals as an example.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story. Illustrations were simple but nice.

[Paige Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book "Do Kangaroos Wear seat belts?" by Jane Kurtz, is about a mother a sons trip to the zoo. As they make there way through the zoo the little boy is asking questions like " if we were kangaroos would we have to wear seat belts" the mother answers by telling him no and then saying a fact about the mother animal and her child. And at the end the mother explains that there are different types of parents all over the world and no matter what he does she will always be there to keep him safe and he says the zoo was fun and one day he might be a daddy kangaroo. I think the age range for this story is elementary because little kids can relate to the story with a time that they have been to the zoo with their parents or when they have had an experience like this.

Artistic Elements: The illustrator, Jane Manning, used a lot of color and only the details that were important to the story. The lines aren't too defined and I would say the art style is representational art.

Recommendation: I would recommend this book. It has a cute story and is easy for children to understand and read

[Susanna Finley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book touches on the importance of safety and how both human mothers and animal mothers want to keep their children safe from harm. The story begins with a boy going to the zoo with his mother and being strapped into his car seat and the little boy would much rather be running free than buckled into a car. As he walks through the zoo with his mom he asks if animal mothers are the same way as human mothers by keeping them safe and trying to prevent them from harming themselves. This book teaches children, and may interest boys because it is written about a male protagonist, that they should listen to their mother because they have their best interest at heart.

[Cami · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations of this book were lovely.

Making this statement is akin to Paula Abdul telling American Idol contestants how "gorgeous" they look after they delivered a less-than-stellar performance. (What? You never noticed she did that?)

Jane Kurtz's story about a boy who asks his mother about the mothering styles of various zoo animals was a cute concept, but the rhyme scheme was so awkward and without rhythm that it was difficult to read outloud to my children and that is a big problem for me.

[Sandie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just ok...the beginning where the little boy asks about kangaroo's wearing seat belts and the last page where he talks about being a daddy kangaroo are the best parts of the book.

The idea of different kinds of mom's and how they take care of their babies is pretty cool. I didn't find the writing to be that interesting. I read it out loud with my daughter, but she didn't seem to have a lot of interest in it either.

The pictures are ok...very colorful.

[Bekkah Riecke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the concept behind this book was really cute. It handles the parent child relationship in a very sweet way, but could also work for any significant relationship a child experiences. I also liked the different animals and facts used throughout the book. It tells a cute story, but it has some real information in there. After reading this the students could talk more about animals and how they behave within their families. I believe that is a science standard in lower elementary grades.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great rhyming picture book where a boy visits a zoo. He asks if he needs to be in a seatbelt and his mom answers. He asks again and again about a variety of situations that occur where he is being protected, such as wearing a bike helmet or holding her hand. Each answer compares the security he is receiving to a way animals protect their young. Fun read aloud

[Jessica Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it! It shows a mother and sons love for each other and how mom's will take care of their young. You don't find out until the end that the mother and son are at the zoo so it is a little surprise! This book rhymes and shows children examples of imagination since the little boy imagines that he is many different animals.

[Shakita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book showed us different animals throughout the zoo. A son and his mother went through the zoo and the mother told the son about each animal. She let him know that just like the mother animals in the zoo, she would protect him always. This book shows the love she had for her son and how animals care for their young as well.

[Mrs. Gabrielle Zastrow's · Rating 5 out of 5]

By Lydia U and Marcus

This book is FUNNY! On the page, there is an animal, and whatever the animal is, the kid goes into a pouch to go for a ride with a parent. It has a happy ending because in the end, the little boy says, "When I grow up, I will be a daddy kangaroo." It is a reflective ending, too!

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

On a visit to the zoo, a little boy imagines what it would be like to be various animals, such as a hippopotamus or a penguin, and listens as his mother explains how all parents keep their young ones safe.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of a little boy who goes to the zoo with his mom and learns about all of the things that the animals do to stay safe that are different than people. It is a cute story—sometimes it rhymes, sometimes it doesn’t. The pictures are lovely!

[Partridge Public]

Kurtz, Jane

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

mommy and me, mother's day, baby animals and their parents, safety rules

[Rose]

E Kur

[Cws]

JEAROS3-Kur

[Jenny Forgay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course all children want an explanation for why moms do what they do. This book walks you through the zoo with a mom and her curious son. Great book to use while learning about animals.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little boy questions all the things humans do for safety by asking if animals do the same things. A great book for you safety unit.

[Joe Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

great for discussions about wearing seatbelts.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute book about a mom and her curious son walking threw the zoo learning about how all moms want to take care of their young.

[Christie Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book to read to your students when teaching text-world or text-self connections. The illistations are magnificant!

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 2 year old loves most things with animals. I thought the text was creative and clever, but there's something a bit off about the ending.

[Finny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mommy says: Better suited to a preschool audience.

[Sarah Ziskend · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for teaching:
-rhyming words
-focusing on ending sounds
-teaches about animal adaptations using a cute story about a mom and son at the zoo
-hood for pointing out verbs

[April Thompson Freeman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was drawn to the title and vibrant colored cover page. Was not impressed with the story. Cute rhymes, but overall didn't mesh well with me.

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

On a trip to the zoo with his mother, a little boy asks if the animals he sees do the same thing humans do (wear seatbelts, use strollers, etc). Nice little rhymes.

Fun illustrations.

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet book about how parents of any species love their kids.