Something Tells Me It's Not All Happening At the Zoo

It seems as if the teachers here in Erie, Pennsylvania and its surrounding townships are always going on strike. It's an unfortunate situation because even if everything is resolved to the teachers' satisfaction, a whole lot of students are stuck in school days or even weeks after they should be out enjoying the summer sun. It's the kids who suffer, and that is also the case in Karma Wilson's Animal Strike at the Zoo. It's True!.

The animals have had it with their meager compensation and insufficient living conditions. They're determined to do something about it - or rather, do nothing. That's right, from this day forward, until their demands are met, every last creature within the zoo's confines will refrain from engaging in any activity that might entertain onlookers.

No swimming by the platypuses and otters. No prowling and growling by the leopards and tigers. No shenanigans by the monkeys or trick displays by the elephants. The zebras and giraffes are even going so far as to cover up their distinctive markings. Anything to discourage visitors and goad the zookeeper into providing a more luxurious life for the zoo's residents.

Wilson's verse sparkles with wit as always with 4 to 6 lines on each page, drawing us deeper into the predicament. "Business these days is as slow as can be. / Folks go to the circus instead. / Nobody wants to pay money to see / The animals lying in bed!" Of course, I have done just that at the Erie Zoo. Well, I've visited with my ZooCard, anyway, so while I didn't pay to get in on that particular day, we always pay for a year-long membership knowing that many of the animals will be drowsing, so the reaction of the little girl with the big glasses whose misery stirs the animals into action seems excessive. Okay, so they're not doing anything, but she's still seeing the animals, so that's something, isn't it? I think so.

One thought that occurs to me is that animals in zoos often live in substandard conditions. This is not nearly as true now as in years past, but just a couple years ago I went to a "wildlife preserve" at which few of the animals had grass or even water in their enclosures. With that in mind, an animal strike doesn't seem like such an unreasonable thing. Of course, when they start demanding the likes of root beer floats, we're firmly grounded in silliness.

Complementing Wilson's radiant rhymes are the paintings by Margaret Spengler, which amusingly show a wide variety of animals wallowing around in overdramatic self-pity. We get snoring monkeys, otters glaring belligerently out from behind scuba-diving gear, zebras stubbornly painting themselves bland yellow and brown. The style, with its heavy paint strokes, is quite different from the work of Jane Chapman, a frequent Wilson collaborator. It's more stylized and cartoonish, and I wasn't sure at first if I liked it, but the pictures as so entertaining I can't help but admire them.

Animal Strike at the Zoo. It's True! is a funny book sure to appeal to young animals lovers. And maybe, seeing the uplifting effect they can have on their furry neighbors, will be inspired to treat them with extra special care so that none of them will want to go on strike.