Poo in the Zoo: The Island of Dinosaur Poo

The Island of Dinosaur Poo is the third installment of the Poo in the Zoo series. If you are a fan of these stories, this will not disappoint. Bob McGrew, the keeper of the Zoo, has decided it's time for a holiday. So he tells all his animals to be ready and outside they meet Hector Gloop (the poo collector from the first book). Hector has a helicopter-style ship and Bob and all the animals climb on board. They set off and Hector sets about collecting all types of exotic poo, flying through a jungle and climbing mountain tops to collect the best samples.  Finally, they arrive at the Island of Kerplink - also known as the 'Land of Living Poo' - where they meet some dinosaurs and the mysterious location of Living Poo. But can Hector find the elusive - or perhaps very lonely - Living Poo?

There is a lovely message in this story of acceptance and friendship. This story is the longest in the collections as the adventure takes you on a journey through the skies, jungle, ocean, and onto an island of dinosaurs. With fantastic brightly coloured, detailed illustrations, these picture books are excellent for delighting young children.

Picture book / Reviewed by Joanna Hewish, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 3+

Poo in the Zoo - The Island of Dinosaur Poo is a really fun book. I would say the reader needs to have read the previous two 'Poo in the Zoo' books to given both the main characters some context, it definitely helps to know Bob's previous adventures. This book differs from the first two as there is more of a mystery story and a little more depth. Of course, children love the rhyming sentences and it is genuinely funny, as well. The illustrations definitely add to the story, my class loved looking at all the different types of poo as well as the different dinosaurs.

This was a great end-of-the-day classroom read; my class loved it as our whole class read on a Friday afternoon to set them up for the weekend with a smile on their faces!

Picture book / Reviewed by Ashley Clayton, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 5+

There's no doubting how much children enjoy the Poo in the Zoo adventures (anything that has 'poo' in the sentence is going to get a chuckle from young children, and these books are completely focused on the subject!).

In this picture book, the third in the series, our child-friendly zookeeper Bob and his friends help Hector Gloop find one more rather elusive 'poop' for his collection - a real, live poo!  They fly off in a wonderfully poo-shaped rocket to search a deserted island, only to find it is full of dinosaurs, and with those come a huge variety of poo, much to Hector's delight! But can they find the poo they are searching for?

The illustrations by Ada Grey are a perfect match for the rollicking, rhyming text and children will love scouring each page for the details and clues in the hunt for the 'living poo' and joining in with the search. Great fun.

Picture book / Ages 5+   

Suggested Reading Age 5+