LitPick Review
It is summer vacation and Maddy, Grace, and Mia are together trying to figure out what short trips they can take to have fun over break. Mia suggests they visit the Parkland Zoo for a day trip. The following Saturday, Maddy’s parents take the three girls for a day of fun at the zoo. When they arrive there, something doesn’t look right. The parking lot is empty, and there aren’t any animals to be found. They see a zookeeper and head over to speak with him.
The zookeeper explains that ever since COVID, the funds to keep the zoo going haven’t been coming in. They still have their animals, but there’s no money to take care of the property, so all the grass, bushes, flowers, and trees have died. They even had to let all the zoo workers go unless they had a vital role in taking care of the animals. Maddy, Grace, and Mia are heartbroken with the news. They looked so forward to spending a day with the animals, and now the zoo wasn’t even opened for visitors. After thinking about it for a bit, the three girls come up with a plan to help the Parkland Zoo. What is there plan? Does the plan work?
Opinion:
I loved the idea of three friends being so heartbroken over the zoo’s closure that they decided to take matters into their own hands to try to re-open the zoo. Even though the girls were young, they still put their ideas together and let their ambition lead them in trying to save what little was left of the zoo. I think this teaches children that it’s okay to think out of the box and want to be involved in your local community even though you might be young. There is no age minimum on trying to lend a helping hand to someone or in this case a local zoo. This instills into children that no matter your age, if you put your mind to something, you can make it happen.
Another thing I loved was how the community came together once the girls got everything started. This teaches children that sometimes all it take is one person to get a community involved in achieving a goal that everyone could benefit from. I feel this was a great story to plant the seed into a child’s mind that helping a community benefits everyone involved. This story promoted community teamwork starting with Maddy, Grace, and Mia.
The illustrations provided by Chris A. Le Cocq were done in muted tones for readers of all ages to enjoy. The illustrations were full-paged and had plenty of details for readers to stop and take in each picture before turning the page to continue the story. She perfectly complemented the author’s written word.
Overall, Maddy and Grace Save the Zoo (and introducing their friend, Mia) is a story that will entertain readers as they turn the pages. It has great characters, a wonderful storyline, and fun illustrations to enjoy throughout.
