Zoo is an illustrated children’s picture book by Anthony Browne, following a family’s day at the zoo through the sharp, observant eyes of a child. At first the visit seems ordinary: dad, mum and two brothers walk past cages, look at animals and comment on what they see, but the pictures gradually reveal a more uneasy question about who is really watching whom. Through Browne’s precise, unsettling illustrations and restrained text, the book becomes more than a simple animal story; it is a picture book about family behavior, captivity, boredom, cruelty, curiosity and the role of zoos. It invites young readers to notice the difference between what people say and what the images show, and leaves open the uncomfortable thought that the bars may tell us as much about humans as they do about animals.
Author: Anthony Browne
Publisher: Red Fox
Publication year: 1994
Number of pages: 32
Original language: English
Age range: 5-7