Zoola Palooza

Gr 2—4—The animals are out of the zoo for a concert: "Zoola Palooza. No cages. Just stages." Barretta incorporates homographs into his narrative about the wild happenings at the big show. A "striped BASS" in a "BOW tie" takes a "BOW" while playing the "BASS fiddle." Carter Pillar, the caterpillar, plays a "30-minute" solo on his "minute" guitar. At the end of the show, a family of feline fans plan to "live" in their car so they can drive to other shows and see repeat performances of Zoola Palooza "Live." Unfortunately, the intended audience for this animal-centric tale won't be familiar with many of the music and pop-culture references (a feline drummer referred to as a "rebel without his claws," power consoles, a band of groupies known as the Fa-So-La-Te-Does, a polka musician named Florence Welk, etc.). Further, regional differences may affect the logic of the word pairings, as with polka-dot and polka (referring to the dance), which have no difference in pronunciation in some parts of the country. Barretta's vibrant watercolors, filled with a rainbow assortment of animals in energetic poses, may attract casual browsers, but the book's main audience will find this act mostly out of step.—Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI