Zoo Crew

Zoo Crew by Guy Edmonds & Matt Zeremes, illustrated by Peter William Popple (Scholastic) PB RRP $15.99 ISBN 9781760976569

Reviewed by Nikki M Heath

How much drama and comedy is it possible to extract from a school sports day? A lot, it turns out - at least if you’re the authors and illustrator of Zoo Crew. Anthropomorphised students take on one another for supremacy and a years’ supply of ice cream, with plenty of hilarity along the way.

Also, a lot of gross. Due warning, this is not a book to read over lunch. The school is overseen by Principal Phaart, a toad with a pus problem that you can expect to hear quite a bit about over the course of the story. The main characters are great fun, displaying strengths and weaknesses that give them a rounded completeness despite the economy of words.

As seems to be popular in this genre of book, the first pages are taken up with introducing the main characters, but it’s done with enough humour to avoid dragging. The text is broken up with illustrations on every page and plenty of inset pieces (‘fun fact’ or ‘Principal Phaart’s To Do List’, for example).

Great for 6- to 9-year-olds, particularly reluctant readers with a short attention span.