Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 05/01/2014 Gr 2–5—A whirlwind, episodic tour of zoos around the world through the ages. Krull takes readers back 4000 years to zoos in Sumeria and ancient China, India, Greece, and Ethiopia, as well as to the menageries of Kublai Khan, Charlemagne, Pope Leo, and Aztec emperor Moctezuma II straight through to modern times. She briefly describes each zoo or collection in a brief paragraph stuffed with fascinating facts that intrigue while they inform. The book ends with modern-day zoos and efforts to save species and reintroduce some of them back into their natural habitats. The author describes the many reasons for building zoos—to study and classify the animal kingdom, connect humans with nature, and awe visitors—in a lighthearted way. The full-color ink and watercolor illustrations are rendered in a sketchy, elastic, cartoon style and feature a wonderful multicultural cast and playful moments for sharp-eyed readers to spot. This thoroughly researched title cites sources that include books and websites, making it ideal for browsing purposes or for school reports.—Marge Loch-Wouters, La Crosse Public Library, WI - Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 06/01/2014 Beginning 4,400 years ago, Krull traces the history of zoos, starting with the Sumerian city of Ur (in what is now Iraq) and moving around the world, through such places as Greece, Egypt, Rome, China, France, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, and all the way to contemporary San Diego. Most every zoo gets a page to itself, with a short descriptive paragraph highlighting its history and noting the personages responsible (including the likes of folks such as Charlemagne, Kublai Khan, and Moctezuma II) and the particular animals they collected. These small blocks of text are surrounded by Hall’s inviting images, which help make the information more accessible. The broad, warm, ink-and-watercolor paintings are peppered with comic detail (note the iconic blue NYC Greek-key coffee cup on Aristotle’s table). Final pages sum up zoos’ contributions to contemporary science and culture. Curious children will enjoy such an investigative celebration. - Copyright 2014 Booklist.

Bulletin for the Center... - 07/01/2014 Zippy indeed is this speedy timeline of significant moments of zoo history that offers a paragraph about a historical zoo on each page, beginning 4,400 years ago with the Sumerian King of Ur’s private zoo. Subsequent stops range through great lights of early history such as Ethiopia, China, and Greece, covering private zoos of rulers and citizens and municipal zoos such as the one in the city of Alexandria. The nineteenth century sees the first publicly accessible zoo in London and the beginning of the notion of zoos as places of preservation; the twentieth century sees the disappearance of zoo cages in favor of wild environments and the growth of breeding programs. There’s plenty of interesting information here, balanced with lively details about pope-dousing elephants and celebrity giraffes, and the transformation of zoos from royal status symbols to their contemporary iteration is effectively conveyed. However, the hit-and-run approach to history leaves scads of questions unanswered (how did municipal zoos so grow in popularity in a mere few decades that Melbourne felt obliged to have one by 1862? How did all these zoos acquire their animals, and how did they keep them?) and stories without punchlines (what did Pope Leo X do after the elephant sprayed him?). New Yorker artist Hall imbues his figures with the same lithe, round-eyed cartoonish charm as mid-century magazine cartoonists such as Whitney Darrow, yet his ink and watercolor illustrations also have a bold nursery vigor; in fact, the art, despite its touches of artless sophistication, aims the pages to a younger audience than the text suggests. Animal lovers will find some intriguing anecdotes here, though, and this may sate the curiosity of zoo aficionados not yet ready for Zoehfeld’s Wild Lives (BCCB 4/06). A list of sources is appended. DS - Copyright 2014 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.