A Haven With A Heart Popcorn Park Zoo

Popcorn Park Zoo

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-- Partly a promotion for an animal rescue park in New Jersey, this anecdotal account also encourages humane treatment and consideration for all creatures, wild or tame. Now a federally licensed zoo, Popcorn Park is traced from its humble origins in 1977 to becoming a residence for over 200 inhabitants that include unwanted or abused pets and animals from roadside or traveling zoos. Attractive full-color photos show local wildlife foundlings; farm animals; and a lion, a tiger, and a teen-aged elephant. Multiethnic children are shown feeding animals popcorn (no oil or salt) on the title page. Although arranged simply, the chatty text is choppy with its many short paragraphs set off with distractingly prominent initial caps. The final section outlines zoo programs and gives advice on how readers can assist animals. A useful list of further reading includes Scott's Safe in the Spotlight (Morrow, 1991). --Ruth M. McConnell, San Antonio Public Library Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Kirkus Reviews This unusual zoo in New Jersey takes in and cares for old, injured, handicapped, or unwanted animals, both wild and domestic. Appealing color photos depict a blind fawn, an elephant with an injured trunk, a three-pawed raccoon, a lion cub, goats, and more. Pfeffer tells how each came to the zoo: some were abused (a baby goat found with his neck slashed; a macaque scalded by vandals); others were abandoned (a potbellied pig too big for an apartment; Easter chicks and rabbits; a cougar whose owner had died). Open to the public, the zoo is supported by contributions. The author stresses conservation and responsible pet ownership and lists zoo programs and places to write for information. Attractive and readable. Brief glossary; further reading; index. (Nonfiction. 8- 12) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.