Mr. Peek and the Misunderstanding at the Zoo

In Waldron’s debut, published in the U.K. in 2008, Mr. Peek the zookeeper finds his uniform jacket much too tight one morning, and his disgruntlement almost spoils everyone’s day. “You’re getting very fat,” he tells himself, and a nearby hippo looks aghast, thinking he’s talking about her. The elephants hear him grumble, “Look how wrinkly you are,” and the giraffes get paranoid at his muttering, “None of the animals even like you.” When Mr. Peek discovers he has mistaken his son’s green jacket for his own (which fits just fine), his mood lifts. He strolls through the zoo a second time, speaking in brisk affirmatives and the animals sigh with relief. Waldron, whose digital caricatures and landscapes suggest fastidiously colored-in pencil doodles, pictures Mr. Peek as a lanky, mustachioed John Cleese type. Mr. Peek plods at first, then silly-walks with glee. Although he is clownish, both his bad and good attitudes are contagious. While Waldron’s comical story may have kids repeating Mr. Peek’s favorite expression of dismay—“Oh, poop!”—it also serves as an excellent reminder to practice optimism in words and deeds. All ages. (May)