The little boy and his mother are off on a long-awaited trip to the zoo. He is so excited, he can’t sit still.
“Can we go fast?” asked the boy. “Can’t we blast to the zoo?”
“It won’t take long,” said his mom. “Sit still, you bouncy kangaroo.”
She buckles him in, prompting him to ask her if they would still wear seatbelts if they were kangaroos. She explains that the kangaroo’s pouch holds the babies tightly so they don’t get jounced around.
They arrive at the zoo and the mother rents a tiger-shaped stroller for him to ride in while they visit the animals.
“Mom, if we were penguins, would we have to use this stroller in the places penguins go?”
“You mean, as we zip, zip, on our slippery trips through Antarctic ice and snow? No. A penguin body’s nice for sporting and cavorting and for sliding on the ice.”
As they continue their day together, the little boy keeps making comparisons to the things going on around him with the animal world. He asks if hippos have to hold their mother’s hands when they walk, if bush babies have to ride on their mother’s backs, and if monkeys have to wear helmets. She explains why animals behave the way they do, then sums it all up nicely:
“All kinds of parents everywhere, wet or dry, low or high, whether their bodies are large or thin, covered with scales or fur or skin, do their best to take good care of their little ones.”
A sweet lesson for children about why their parents want to keep them safe, this book also contains the promise that parents will always be there for their children, a message that brings comfort and hope.
(This book was published in 2005 by Dutton Children’s Books and was illustrated by Jane Manning.)
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