Review: Zoo School

We all know that going to school can feel like entering a jungle, and sometimes it feels like it could be full of wild animals. Well, imagine if you went to school and it WAS full of wild animals! This is exactly what happens in Heath McKenzie’s book Zoo School.

One morning Oscar was taking a long time to wake up and his sister Ava was not impressed – they were late! When they eventually get to school, they don’t notice at first that things aren’t quite right, and then when they do get into class, they see something rather alarming… an elephant! Wearing bloomers of all things, and having a cup of tea. But that’s not all, there are gorillas in the class, zebras in the hall and baboons on musical instruments! Animals have infiltrated their school and they are out to cause all kinds of chaos.

It might seem fun, but when all the animals take up the playground, the kids have enough and go to seek out the teachers, who don’t/won’t open the door! ‘So it was up to us to sort out this bungle. We’d have to decide who was king of this jungle!’

This is a really fun back to school story. It features lots of funny bums and even a sizeable rear that will have kids in hoots, all of which will ease back to school anxiety. This will be especially relevant with kids going back to school soon after the inconsistency of the last few years, and this book will work perfectly in opening up conversations in a light and entertaining way. I had a laugh too thinking of the teachers hiding away, and found it pretty relatable as a parent. The writing flows perfectly and is fun to read out loud. The illustrations are delightful – Heath Mckenzie’s bright funny illustrations are perfect for generating humour and the angles of all the animals and their bums are perfect. A super enjoyable read for kids going back to school!