| July
2007
Dear Fellow Book
Lovers:
ZOO CAMP
AT YOUR LIBRARY
July
has come to be a month that many people associate with vacations.
School is out and many children attend various day camps while
their parents are at work. A particular, popular, day camp
in many cities is Zoo Camp. It is especially fitting that
Zoo Camp occurs in July because the first zoo in the United
States opened on July 1, 1874 in Philadelphia. The price of
admission was 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children.
Since children have a natural interest in animals, it seems
to me that public libraries could create their own zoo adventure
using books.
- Begin by reading If
I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss (Ages 6-9). Have
children draw a picture of a fanciful animal that they would
include in an imaginary zoo. Give the animal a proper name.
- Ask children to name the various animals
that they would expect to see in a real zoo.
- Have them watch short movies of various
animals. Ask them to note how the animals move and communicate.
Divide the children into small groups and ask them to create
a modern dance that shows how various animals move. For
example, one child may be a camel, one an elephant, and
another a monkey. Allow them to pick their own music, but
you might recommend they choose something like "Carnival
of the Animals." Have each child make a face mask of
the animal that he/she dramatizes. This mask should be glued
to a tongue depressor so that the children can hold them
to their faces as they dance. Engage young adult patrons
to assist younger children with this activity.
- Tell children that there are many kinds
of zoos. Ask them to name animals that might be in a petting
zoo. How is an aquarium a type of zoo?
- Send children on a virtual field trip
of famous zoos in the United States. Begin by introducing
them to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. (http://nationalzoo.si.edu).
Then send them to the following large zoos:
San
Diego (www.sandiegozoo.org)
Saint
Louis (www.stlzoo.org)
Central
Park (www.nyzooandaquarium.com/cpz)
Lincoln
Park (www.lpzoo.com)
Philadelphia
(www.philadelphiazoo.org)
How
are these zoos alike? How are they different? What programs
do they offer children?
- Ask children to find a book about their
favorite animal, and make a bookmark that lists important
facts. For example: habitat, food, size, etc. Random House
offers the following books:
Animal
Babies by Harry McNaught (Ages 0-3)
Baby
Farm Animals by Garth Williams (Ages 2-5)
Wild
Cats by Mary Batten; illustrated by Michael Langham
Rowe (Ages 7-9)
Dolphins
and Sharks by Mary Pope Osborne & Natalie
Pope Boyce (Ages 7-10)
- Have children read a fictional work about
animals and list the facts they learn from the fiction.
Here are a few suggestions from Random House:
A to Z Mysteries: The White Wolf by Ron Roy;
illustrated by John Steven Gurney (Ages 6-9)
Funny
Frank by Dick King-Smith; illustrated by John
Eastwood (Ages 7-10)
Thimble
Summer by Elizabeth Enright (Ages 10 up)
The
Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting (Ages
10 up)
The
Cricket in Times Square by George Selden (Ages
10 up)
Whittington
by Alan Armstrong; illustrated by S.D. Schindler (Ages 8-12)
Tale
of Tales by Tony Mitton; illustrated by Peter
Bailey (Ages 5-12)
- Finally, ask children to think creatively
and choose a favorite book character to take to a zoo. Tell
them to consider the personality of the character and share
which animal exhibit the book character would most want
to visit. Such characters may include:
Junie
B. Jones from the Junie
B. Jones series by Barbara Park; illustrated
by Denise Brunkus (Ages 7-10)
Kenny
in The
Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 by Christopher
Paul Curtis (Ages 10 up)
Hollis
Woods in Pictures
of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff (Ages
8-13)
Andrew
in Freckle
Juice by Judy Blume (Ages 7-9)
Gooney
Bird in Gooney
Bird Greene by Lois Lowry (Ages 7-10)
You
may email me at pscales@bellsouth.net.
|
