What’s New at the Zoo?

Actress Phyllis Newman provides an introduction and afterword to this spirited picture book, based on the lyrics of a song written by Newman’s late husband, Green, and his longtime collaborator, Comden, for the 1960 Broadway musical Do Re Mi. The song rhymes animals’ body parts and exclamations, as they vie for space in an overcrowded zoo: “Ouch! ‘You’re stepping on my pouch!’ to the bear said the kangaroo./ Oh! ‘You’re stepping on my toe!’ to the kangaroo said the gnu.” The chorus, “Let us out! Let us out! Let us out! The zoo is overloaded,” is delivered with flair on die-cut, foldout pages. Sans music, the lyrics sound overly repetitious, but bold, colorful typography gives them pizzazz. Foster’s (The Feet in the Gym) raucous cartoons highlight the animals mentioned in the verse (a moose, stepping on a pelican’s bill, in turn has its own snout stomped on by a goose) by portraying them in color, while the rest of the expressive (and quite cranky) menagerie can be seen in gray outlines in the background. It’s a lively portrayal of a zoo gone wild. Ages 4–up. (Sept.)