Here’s my choice for Perfect Picture Book Friday:


Zoo Ah-choooo
Written by Peter Mandel
Illustrated by Elwood Smith
Holiday House, 2012
Fiction
Suitable for ages: 2 and up
Themes/Topics: colds, zoo, ripple effects


Opening line: It was a sleepy Sunday at the City Zoo. The Hippos were slow. Low and slow.


Synopsis from Amazon.com: Watch out! A giant ZOO AH-CHOOOO is headed your way! Funny sound effects and wacky illustrations make this a laugh-out-loud favorite.


Snow Leopard started it: Ah-choooo! Elephant passed it along: RRRrrr-eee-ahh-PHOOOO! Now twelve Seals are spreading it: Ka-Frrrooo OOOOOOOOMMMMM! A geyser bursts, a mud volcano erupts, and chaos reigns! The zookeeper tries his best to minimize the mayhem, but he can’t keep up! Finally, he calls in the animal doctor. At last all is again quiet at the zoo until…was that a YAAAAWN?


Links to Resources: This 52-page guide is from SaniHands teaches the importance of hand hygienic and infection prevention. Kindergarten Hand Washing Lesson.


Why I like this book: We picked this up during one of our library visits while traveling. I didn’t like it during our first reading. Just like the day at the zoo begins slow, so does this book. After several readings, it grew on me. The animals’ sneezing sounds add to the fun of reading this book out loud. It also added a few tongue twists for me. The illustrations are fun and children can see something new each time they look at the book.


Find more Perfect Picture Books on Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog. Hope you have a great weekend.


*Sneezes are contagious. I began sneezing as I wrote this post. Zoo Ah-chooo!
(Updated the hand washing link on July 21, 2014.)