I'm in the Zoo, Too!

by Brent Ashabranner

Burl, a young squirrel, sets out to learn from his friends why he isn't fed like the other animals in the zoo. Full-color illustrations.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 7, 1989

Reviews

[Margaret]

Burl the squirrel figures out the difference between living in the zoo (in a tree) and BEING in the zoo, in a cage. The illustrations are very nice and semi-realistic. I love squirrels and acorns, and Burl is darn cute. But I'm conflicted about zoos--the animals can't get out and don't live a "normal" life like Burl does who lives in the trees with his family. It's a sad existence and you can feel it come through in the text and pictures. Good for starting a discussion on zoos and the animals in them.

[Diane]

Burl, the squirrel, can’t understand why no one wants to take his picture the way they photograph all the other zoo animals. What do they have that he doesn’t? After all, he lives in a tree at the zoo. So, he talks to the other zoo animals to see if they know. But when he gets locked in a cage overnight, he decides he’d rather not be a zoo animal, regardless of whether he’ll get his picture taken or not.