Review: Our Family Zoo


When I was a kid, I wanted to be a mum. I had a younger sister, my bestie but to fill the sibling gap (and several years before motherhood would be a reality), I had a backyard of furred, feathered and finned buddies. Much like Little A, (my own moniker for him) our main character in Maura Pierlot and A Yi's latest picture book, Our Family Zoo.

This little boy's backyard, and kitchen and bedroom are filled to bursting with animals of every description. There are your run of the mill domestic moggies and doggies, the old chook, plenty of questionable reptiles and amphibians not to mention a host of native pet rescues. It's exactly the kind of animal menagerie I yearned for as a youngster, although I did manage to rack up a loft full of pigeons, quails, budgies, ducks, chooks, mice, dogs, cats, rosellas, a galah named Freddie, and at one point, a ping pong eating giant oscar fish. Little A would have been proud.


But where my parents drew the line at an Arabian stallion, Little A heads full tilt into the next urban David Attleborough role with insistent and increasingly urgent pleas to add to his virtual wildlife park. Baboons, sloths and hawks are all up for contention. But Mum holds fast intimating a change is imminent and will supersede his creature cravings. 

This catapults our intrepid animal idoliser into a guessing game of epic proportions. Could a llama be the cause of all this drama? What if an elephant moves in? Or have they finally got him a zebra for the family zoo! 


When Mum eventually discloses the real new addition and reason for her changing shape, by the way, Little A turns cartwheels. This new addition is exactly what he's wanted more than anything ... almost.

Our Family Zoo, is an exuberant, fast-moving recognition of a very common life change - the arrival of a new baby, set in a not-so-common family setting - a bonsai zoo. Easy flowing rhyme slides across the pages building to a humorous and joyful crescendo. Kids will identify instantly with the urgency of Little A's want and desire. Parents will register with the mentality and inexhaustible tenacity to make and deliver these fanciful requests.

Synthesize the clever word play and generous inclusion of many species of fauna with A Yi's entertaining and charmed-filled illustrations and you've got a picture book perfect to share with littlies, animal lovers and soon to be brothers or sisters. Yi's digitally created images possess a texture and fluidity that entices readers to reach out and pat or stroke members of the zoo. Solid crayon-like lines reflect Little A's own artwork which portrays his zoological dreams. Mum features in a number of scenes but the surprise ending is never revealed thanks to firm focus on swinging baboons and flying fish. Bold bright sweeps of colour complement thoughtful vingettes. It's a winning chemistry of humour and delight.

This might be one of my faves from Pierlot to date. It works because of the beautiful conjecture created by one little boy's craving for companionship and the subtle tribute to unusual and diverse family types. And it has sloths in it. What's not to love! Ideal for animated classroom time and quiet snuggles at home.

Title: Our Family Zoo
Author: Maura Pierlot
Illustrator: A Yi
Publisher: Scholastic Press, $19.99
Publication Date: 1 June 2026
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781761643545
For ages: 3 - 8
Type: Picture Book

Buy the Book: Boomerang Books          


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