Poo at the zoo by Sarah Eason

Ill. by Kirsten Collier. Bloomsbury Books, 2012. ISBN 978 1 4081 7189 9.
(Ages 4-7) Recommended. Picture book. This fabulous book produced in conjunction with the London Zoo with some of the proceeds going to this establishment, will be a hit amongst its audience, whether they be 4-7 as described by the publisher, or 4-70. It is a laugh out loud, sharing sort of book, with a whole host of fascinating bits of information sure to grab everyone's attention.
From facts about a lion's poo which is very smelly, and designed to keep other animals at bay, to a hippo which swishes its poo away with its tail, or an anteater which does its in a stream to avoid the horrific smell and the dainty poo of a giraffe, about the size of an alive but lots of it, these facts are told in a humorous and stimulating way with delightful drawings to acquaint the reader with the animal in question. Each page has several paragraphs of facts about the animal, a 'did you know' insert as well as a circle containing an interesting but often very strange fact.
All told with good humour and panache, the 12 animals represented here are augmented with a glossary,  index and two pages of facts, as well as a page about the London Zoo.
This is a fabulous book for kids, not only in the library, but on classroom shelves and at home. What a treat. I do hope they put out another volume. I laughed out loud at one of the facts at the end of the book: In Australia, people use tiger poo to scare roaming deer away from gardens! Really!
Fran Knight