Calling All Animal Lovers

Zoo-Ology
Written & Illustrated by Joëlle Jolivet
Age Level: 0-6 Years
Published October 3, 2003

Which animal is your favorite?

Standing tall at almost 18 inches high, this colorful and creative picture book is a show stopper. What I’m most impressed by is that French illustrator Joëlle Jolivet teaches readers so much while saying practically nothing at all.

Jolivet organizes animals by categories and shows them off in a series of fourteen spreads, each of which are packed corner-to-corner with lively depictions that nearly spill off the page. But the genius lies in the thoughtfulness and brilliance of each category, which aren’t the typical ones that most authors resort to. Readers are asked to consider animals that live in hot climates vs cold, animals that are feathered vs horned, or creatures that live underground or nocturnal. My personal favorites are the spreads that celebrate similar visual markings like animals that are black and white or have spots and stripes.

“Moray eel: Although very ferocious, the moray eel allows shrimp into its mouth to clean its teeth.”

Each animal is helpfully labeled, and an alphabetical index in the back lists a fascinating fact about each creature in the book. A delight cover-to-cover, Jolivet’s masterpiece is an opportunity to learn about creatures that you never knew existed, and to look at animals in a way that you’ve never viewed them before.

Don’t miss the equally irresistible companion book, Almost Everything!

The perfect pair! Don’t miss the companion book, Almost Everything.