Zoo Ah-choooo

PreS-K—"It was a sleepy Sunday at the City Zoo….Suddenly, something unsleepy… flew through the zoo! It was a Zoo Ah-choooo." The Snow Leopard's sneeze proves contagious, and pretty soon all the animals are sneezing, causing havoc. The Zookeeper acts quickly and calls the vet, who prescribes a "Superfizzy sneeze solution." Things quiet down, but—what is that? "A Leopard's YAWN….Did anyone hear it?" Lively pen-and-ink, watercolor, and Photoshop cartoon illustrations join with the humorous text to tell the tale with panache. The story is similar to several others, including Patricia Thomas's "'Stand Back,' Said the Elephant, 'I'm Going to Sneeze!'" (Lothrop, 1971) and E. S. Redmond's Felicity Floo Visits the Zoo (Candlewick, 2009). However, the illustrations are entertaining and each animal has a different sneeze sound, which will appeal to young listeners. For collections that do not own the earlier titles or want another sneeze book, this will be a popular choice.—Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA