4th October International Zookeeper Day

It is Zookeeper Day. They ask us to please take the opportunity on October 4th to stop and reflect on the huge contribution zookeepers make to the care and conservation of all species great and small. So what more of an excuse do I need than to put together a display of all the books in the library that celebrate zookeepers and what they do.

Let's start with the humorous ones that dwell on too much poo, escaped animals and absent zookeepers.

• Poo in the Zoo by Steve Smallman & Ada Grey, and its sequel

• Poo in the Zoo; the Great Poo Mystery

Here Zookeeper Bob has to deal with just  too much poo!

• What Do They Do With All that Poo from all the Animals at the Zoo by Ann Do & Laura Wood

• Poo at the Zoo by Sarah Eason & Kirsten Collier

• Hungry Roscoe by David J. Plant

Roscoe is a hungry raccoon fed up with eating rotten junk out of the bins. What he wouldn't give for a lovely bit of fish or some fresh, juicy fruit -and where better to find food than at the zoo! An excellent idea, except for the grumpy zookeeper who's intent on keeping Roscoe OUT.

• Something's Amiss at the Zoo  by Jen Breach & Douglas Holgate

Two zookeepers just can't figure out what's wrong at the zoo. The spider monkey won't spin a web, and he seems scared of the other spiders. The tiger shark doesn't seem comfortable in the jungle enclosure, and the elephant beetle is in danger of being crushed by the other elephants. Only one person can help: the kid! He soon sets the zookeepers straight, but one mystery remains: how did these two ever manage to pass zookeeper school?

• A Sick Day for Amos McGee  by Philip Stead & Erin Stead

Every day zookeeper, Amos McGee  spends a little bit of time with each of his friends at the zoo, running races with the tortoise, keeping the shy penguin company, and even reading bedtime stories to the owl. But when Amos is too sick to make it to the zoo, his animal friends decide it's time they returned the favor. 

• Good Night, Gorilla  by Peggy Rathmann

Good night, Gorilla, says the zookeeper. But mischievous Gorilla isn't quite ready to go to sleep. He'd rather follow the zookeeper on his rounds and let all of the other animals out of their cages.

• What's That Noise?  by Mary Roennfeldt and Robert Roennfeldt

A zookeeper hears strange noises at night and searches in vain for the source.

Then there's some more serious reads:

• Juliet Nearly a Vet : Zookeeper for the Day! by Rebecca Johnson

• Yasmin the Zookeeper by Saadia Faruqi         

• Zookeeper by Heather Miller

• I Want to Be a Zookeeper by Dan Liebman

• Zookeeper  by Marne Ventura

I'm sure there's more!