Showtime! Zoozical by Judy Sierra and Marc Brown

OWLS DID NOT GIVE A HOOT.
PANDAS QUIT BEING CUTE.
EVEN PENGUINS WERE SURLY.
WHEN THE ZOO GATES CLOSED EARLY!

It's wintertime and the critters at the Springfield Zoo have cabin fever. Twilight comes early, and the chilly weather keeps the sunny tropical animals inside. It's dreary at the zoo without the antics of those comical humans to amuse the critters inside. The penguins are peevish and the dingos are down in the mouth.

But there are two young critters who won't let the doldrums get them down. Little Hippo and Little Kanga have too much energy to let the winter solstice pilfer their panache, and suddenly they come up with an idea. Let's put on a show!

IT WAS SIMPLY AMAZING WHAT THE TWO FRIENDS COULD DO
WHEN THEY TAPPED AND THEY RAPPED AND THEY TWIRLED THEIR FEET.
ALL THE ANIMALS ROCKED TO THE HIP-AROO BEAT.

"WOO-HOO!" CRIED THE YOUNG KANGA.
"WE'RE SO-O-O-O MUSICAL!"
"COOL!" SAID THE HIPPO.
"LET'S PUT ON A ZOOZICAL!"

Suddenly everyone wants to get into the act. Bunnies sing "If you're hoppy and you know it...," those be-quilled hoofers break into "Oh, my darling Porcupine!" and the giraffes break into "It's a tall world after all...." Others animals shine with their own talents--monkey become tumblers and flamingos become flying aerial artists, and soon the humans return to the zoo to watch the show, with the "Zoo Hokey Pokey" as the grand finale.

WHEN TIGERS DON'T BITE,
WHEN THE DOLDRUMS TAKE FLIGHT,
ON A MAGICAL MUSICAL ZOOZICAL NIGHT.

The best-selling duo of Judy Sierra and Marc Brown (Wild About Books (Irma S and James H Black Honor for Excellence in Children's Literature (Awards)) bring back their critter crew in their latest collaboration, ZooZical (Knopf, 2011), one which sets favorite children's songs to a zoo theme and gets everyone out of their own doldrums. Sierra's simple but catchy rhymes and Marc Brown's cheery critters are as much fun as ever in this antidote to the drearies.

As Publisher's Weekly points out, "Teens have Glee, tweens have High School Musical, and with this snappy follow-up to Wild About Books younger siblings can delight in the joy of putting on a show."