Poo in the Zoo - Story Snug

Poo in the Zoo by Steve Smallman & Ada Grey

The highlight of this year’s school trip to the zoo was seeing a monkey do a poo and my daughter explained the situation in great detail (with actions!). She then asked to read Poo in the Zoo which is an amusing and original rhyming story about how one little zookeeper has to deal with the animal poo that is generated in his zoo.

The Story: Zookeeper Bob McGrew loves looking after the animals but isn’t so keen on clearing up their poo. One day Iguana escapes and eats everything in sight including a swarm of fireflies. The resulting poo is green and glowing and Bob (who didn’t see what happened) thinks that the poo has come from outer space! Hector Gloop, a poo collector, offers to buy itย for his collection and Bob uses Hector’sย money to ensure that he no longer has to clean up poo (we’re not going to spoil the story and tell you what he buys!).

This story is not for those who are uncomfortable with the inclusion of poo in a story, it really is everywhere and poor Bob’s task is never ending. His job as a zookeeper is given an amusing twist with the inclusion of the iguana’s glowing, green poo and it is fun for children to know something that Bob doesn’t! There’s poo on every page, often described quite graphically, and my daughter pores over the pictures trying to match the poo to the animal. She’s fascinated by the different types of animal poo that are mentioned in the story, Hector Gloop has quite a collection and Ada Grey’s beautifully illustrated endpapers show lots of different varieties including Griffin Doo-doo and Skink Stink.

Poo in the Zoo has a wonderfully, humorous rhyming text which is fun to read aloud and there is lots of humour in the illustrations. Our favourite illustration is the final one, we love the baby panda sat in a deckchair with a huge ice-cream next to his tea drinking mum and it’s great to see Bob relaxing now that he doesn’t need to work so hard! There is a range of animals in the story which younger children can have fun identifying, we love the way that (very unrealistically!) the visitors to the zoo and the animals mingle together to look at the unusual poo!

Poo in the Zoo is not for the squeamish but the toilet humour will appeal to small children everywhere!

Age Range: 3 to 6

Author: Steve Smallman / Illustrator: Ada Grey

Thank you to Little Tiger Press for sending us a review copy of Poo in the Zoo. My daughter was insistent that we recommend it on Story Snug, especially after her own zoo experience!

This blogpost from Words and Pictures explains the publishing process behind Poo in the Zoo, from Steve Smallman’s initial submission to the publication of the book.


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36 responses to “Poo in the Zoo by Steve Smallman & Ada Grey”


  1. Sarah Doyle - let them be small avatar

    toilet humour would be a winner here I am sure!! Sounds like a great book though

    #readwithme


    1. Catherine avatar

      Toilet humour seems to be a winner with many small people ๐Ÿ™‚


  2. Berg avatar

    This is just kind of humour that my kids would love. Great post, Thanks for the recommend. #readwithme


    1. Catherine avatar

      Thank you Berg ๐Ÿ™‚


  3. Janet Yarwood avatar

    We’ve not reached the ‘poo is funny’ stage with my little girl yet but I know it’s coming. This looks like a fab book for that stage. Thanks for sharing #readwithme


    1. Catherine avatar

      It’s a stage that no child seems to bypass ๐Ÿ˜‰


  4. Claire avatar

    I dread clicking on your links as my amazon wish list always grows! And you’ve done it again! Looks like a real hoot, I have a five year old who would LOVE this!! #triedtested


    1. Catherine avatar

      Thank you for such a wonderful compliment ๐Ÿ™‚ Isn’t it funny how five year olds are fascinated by stories about poo?!


  5. Emma - My Book Corner avatar
    Emma - My Book Corner

    Oh I keep seeing glimpses of this cover on social media, I must say it does sound quite funny!
    #readwithme


    1. Catherine avatar

      What is funny is that the reader knows something that the zookeeper doesn’t ๐Ÿ˜‰


  6. chantelle hazelden avatar

    My girls love this book and it totally appeals to their dad too ๐Ÿ˜‰ thanks for sharing with #readwithme x


    1. Catherine avatar

      The topic of poo in picture books always appeals to children, glad Dad likes it too ๐Ÿ™‚


  7. Jayne @ SMABL avatar

    Sounds like a fun book, something my Monkey would like for sure ๐Ÿ™‚
    #TriedTested


    1. Catherine avatar

      It is a lot of fun ๐Ÿ™‚


  8. Mudpie Fridays avatar

    Sounds like a great book, will be looking for this one as toilet humour always goes down well with Monkey!! Thank you for sharing #TriedTested


    1. Catherine avatar

      Monkey will love this (especially the way that Monkey does his poo!).


  9. LittleOandme avatar

    I am sure my toddler would love this book, he is rather fascinated by poo at the moment (beginning to potty train!)
    Becky xx
    #TriedTested


    1. Catherine avatar

      Good luck with the potty training, I don’t have good memories of that phase!


  10. Kelly Donald-Pattullo avatar

    I love the title of this book, I will definitely buy it when Dexter is a bit older. I can imagine he will really love it.


    1. Catherine avatar

      It is a fun title, the sort that invites you to open the book and read the story ๐Ÿ™‚


  11. Tina Mansfield avatar

    I think that I might just enjoy this book a little bit more than my son. I can see it is something that he would have loved when he was little after all what isn’t there to like about animals and poo! Boy heaven #triedtested


    1. Catherine avatar

      This is a great book for showing that not all animal poo is the same ๐Ÿ™‚


  12. Zena's Suitcase avatar

    We love a good poo story. This book would go down a storm in our house ๐Ÿ™‚ #triedtested


    1. Catherine avatar

      There’s all kinds of poo in this story!


  13. Colette B avatar

    You really can’t beat poo for entertainment value can you! Have you read “The Mole who Knew it was none of his business”? It’s great – I’m sure she’d love it.
    Thanks for sharing your review on #TriedTested this week x


    1. Catherine avatar

      We have The Mole who Knew It Was None Of His Business in German, the original version. I prefer it to the English version.


  14. Helen Porter avatar

    the tittle made me laugh I love the idea of this book I know anything to do with toilet habits my boys would love so this would be the sort of book that would go down a treat in my house! it sounds great #triedtested


    1. Catherine avatar

      The title really invites you to read the book to find out more ๐Ÿ™‚


  15. Baby Isabella avatar

    Funny how children are fascinated with poo! It sounds like a great book! We must track it down #TriedTested


    1. Catherine avatar

      I think most children are fascinated by poo, another of our favourite books is ‘The Story of the Little Mole Who Went in Search of Whodunit’ by Werner Holzwarth and Wolf Erlbruch.


  16. Kim Carberry avatar

    This sounds like a really funny book….My girls do like a bit of toilet humor x


    1. Catherine avatar

      I haven’t met a child who doesn’t like toilet humour, this book’s not for the squeamish though!


  17. cheryl pasquier avatar

    with a name like that, it would be a great hit at The Madhouse ! ๐Ÿ™‚ #triedtested


    1. Catherine avatar

      It’s a catchy title isn’t it ๐Ÿ™‚


  18. Coombe Mill - Fiona Cambouropoulos avatar

    Toilet humor is always a kids favorite, a winner in a book! #TriedTested


    1. Catherine avatar

      It’s great that my daughter could also link the situation in the book to a real life experience.