Fraidyzoo

by Thyra Heder

Overview

It’s a great day to go to the zoo! As her family hustles to get out the door, Little T lags behind. She’s afraid to go back to the zoo; the only trouble is, she can’t remember why. As an ingenious solution to help her remember, her mom, dad, and sister construct homemade costumes and act out zoo animals—in alphabetical order, no less! The costumes and scenes grow increasingly elaborate and breathtakingly creative. An umbrella and bubble wrap magically transform into a jellyfish, bath towels and a can of soda become a parrot, and many, many more. At the end of the day, Little T has conquered her fear and no longer feels like a “fraidyzoo.” In this charming, witty picture book debut, Thyra Heder honors the bravery it takes to face your fears, and the loving people who help you do so.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613125397
Publisher:	Abrams, Harry N., Inc.
Publication date:	11/05/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	52 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Thyra Heder is a Brooklyn-based illustrator whose clients include Vogue, Johnny Walker, Match.com, Bonnaroo, Kenneth Cole, and many more. She storyboards for film and television, including the FX Network, PBS, and NOVA. She graduated from Brown University in 2006 with a degree in art semiotics. This is her first picture book.

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/07/2013
Debut talent Heder comes up with a wildly imaginative idea for an alphabet book/animal guessing game, elaborates it with smartly drafted ink-and-watercolor spreads, and seasons it with plenty of family warmth and hullaballoo. Little T’s mother, father, and older sister discover that she’s reluctant to go the zoo, and they throw themselves into figuring out which animal she’s frightened of. Adorning themselves with common household objects, they go right through the alphabet. “Can it give itself showers?” her hyper older sister asks, with two plastic bags on her ears and her arm held up like an elephant’s trunk for E. “Maybe it’s pink?” asks her father, skipping across the room in a pink tutu and pink Post-its stuck to his fingers, a fetching flamingo F. The picture of a family working together to cheer up its tiniest member, the identifiable elements of all the costumes, and the unexpected creature that Little T actually fears (a middle-aged ticket taker with menacing fingernails) all ring true—and readers will come away with some fine animal costume ideas, too. Ages 4–8. Agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"This book does the impossible, taking one of the oldest children’s book conventions, the zoo alphabet, and completely reinventing it. It’s a story about a family helping one of their own overcome fear by being utterly silly and completely loving. The whole thing is done with such a confident and lively style, it’s hard to believe that this is Heder’s first picture book. Fraidyzoo is funny, original, and announces Heder as a force to be reckoned with."

The Atlantic Wire

"Illustrations capture the empathy of a very concerned, loving, and creative family."

Library Media Connection

"Heder tells a child-relevant story about facing your fears with a light hand and zippy prose, but it’s her art that dials the zippiness up to 11, as her warm and humorously realistic figures gallivant alongside some remarkably envisioned handcrafted animal puppets."

Booklist

10/01/2013
PreS-Gr 2—The cut-and-paste, handmade look and feel of this picture book underscores its thematic ode to creative problem solving. Little T is about to embark on a much-anticipated trip to the zoo with her family when she freezes up with fear. Her parents call time-out and undertake a laugh-out-loud, over-the-top attempt to pinpoint exactly which animal she seems to be afraid of. Utilizing household objects, recyclables, clothing, and everyday art materials, Mom, Dad, and sister construct a madcap, A-to-Z range of costumes to determine which creature could possibly be thwarting T's desire to go to the zoo. "Does it jump in the road?" asks Mom, holding V-shaped tongs to her head simulating deer's antlers; "Does it live in the tropics?" asks Dad, crawling around the floor in an iguana costume constructed with cardboard tubes and paper bags. And so on until nightfall, when T declares her fears banished and now wants to go to the zoo. (Who wouldn't, after all those entertaining theatrics?) But when they arrive the next day, an encounter with a certain zoo employee sends T's sister into a panic, an ironic twist to T's resolution of her own fears. The charming, detailed watercolor and ink illustrations really tell the story, and children will relish poring over them to guess the animal costumes and identify their construction materials. Pair this with titles such as Antoinette Portis's Not a Box (2006) and Not a Stick (2007, both HarperCollins) to jump-start kids' own creative juices.—Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT

School Library Journal

★ 2013-09-15
What kid is afraid of going to the zoo? Little T, that's who. To find out exactly which animal Little T is so afraid of, her parents and older sister strike poses with household props and act out the unnamed, alphabetic animals A to Z. Little T laughs and giggles at their mimicking antics, saying "No" to each of the monkeyshines. Of course she winds up joining in the fun, and the family makes it to the zoo. The surprise ending is a hoot and will have readers laughing out loud. The witty watercolor-and-ink illustrations invent humorous clues: Dad mimes "alligator" with his arms; big sister decorates an umbrella with bubble wrap and pink streamers to make a "jellyfish." Nuanced details add whimsy, such as a black-and-white cat that meanders in and out of the scenes. Though the animals are never labeled in the story, the rear endpapers present pictures of each creature pinned to a bulletin board. Q stands for Quetzal; N for Narwhal; U for Unicorn; X and Y for Xantis Yak; V for Vampire Bat. WARNING: Expect riotous buffoonery after reading this clever and original alphabet story, as kids will definitely want to "parrot" the examples. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews