The Zoomers’ Handbook
Written by Ana de Moraes
Illustrated by Thiago de Moraes
Andersen Press USA  4/01/2016
978-1-5124-0424-1
32 pages   Ages 4—8

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“This is not a handbook for zookeepers. Zookeepers look after monkeys, elephants, and lions. That’s easy. This is not a handbook for farmers. Farmers look after chickens, cows, and pigs. Anyone can do that. This is a handbook for zoomers. And zoomers take care of well, animals in-between . . . Discover the secret of the shiger’s stripy wool, the challenges of owning a loyal but gigantic dogephant and the special skills of the super-fast horsodile in this mind-bending, creature-blending debut from husband and wife team Thiago and Ana de Moraes.” [PUBLISHER’S WEBSITE]

Review
Zoomers are very special people who look after special creatures. A zoo may have a gorilla and a farm may have a goat, but only zoomers will have a goatrilla. A goatrilla likes to swing from trees and climb. It eats at least ten cans of bananas a day—mostly enjoying the cans. Zoomers take care of odd creatures, perhaps they can only love. Kids will get a kick out of these creatures and their abilities. A polar cow can make ice cream if you can get it to dance at the right time. Zoomer creatures are special in this way. They are a combination of two wonderful creatures but have their own special features.
The Zoomers’ Handbook introduces children to several zoomer creatures, such as the shiger, shickens, horsodiles, and the most beautiful pigcock. Not many have seen a pigcock, but when you do, you will notice it has wonderful feathers, which normally hide their beauty with mud—pigcocks like mud. Kids will enjoy the zoomer animals. Thiago de Moraes illustrates each critter in this handbook, though not in color. Even in black and white, the beauty and special features of each creature is evident. Kids can use their imaginations and decide for themselves the color patterns of each creature.
The Zoomer’s Handbook is a fun and imaginative venture into an unlikely animal world. Kids who like to see things in a new way, creating new possibilities from old ones, will like The Zoomers’ Handbook. The zoomer animals are the product of the imagination and encourage kids to see things in a new way. Are these creatures alive and roaming the Earth somewhere? If they are, they are some of the wildest creatures yet discovered. And for those taking field notes—as any good scientist would—the end pages tell you the equipment you will need to find these amazing creatures.
The final spread contains a group picture of the creatures found in The Zoomers’ Handbook. This “class picture” of imaginative creatures will tickle your funny bone. The back end pages add to your working knowledge of these critters. Here you can learn about their young and other interesting information you can only find in The Zoomers’ Handbook.

THE ZOOMERS’ HANDBOOK. Text copyright © 2016 by Ana de Moraes. Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Thiago de Moraes. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Andersen Press USA, distributed by Lerner Publishing Group, Minneapolis, MN.

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Make Your Own Zoomer Creqture Activity HERE.

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Reprinted with permission from THE ZOOMERS’ HANDBOOK © 2016 by Ana de Moraes, Andersen Press USA, distributed by Lerner Publishing Group, Illustrations © 2016 by Thiago de Moraes.

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Copyright © 2016 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

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The Zoomers’ Handbook
Written by Ana de Moraes
Illustrated by Thiago de Moraes
Andersen Press USA 4/01/2016
9781512404241