Synopses & Reviews
Living creatures large and small are assembled in Julie's bedroom. This nine-year-old adopted daughter of Jules Feiffer loves animals, and she's putting together a zoo in her room.
By carefully working on her mother and father, she collects a sick cat; a hamster; a big, ugly fish; six smaller fish that start to disappear; a turtle; a strong-minded kitten; an unresponsive hermit crab; and a borrowed classroom rabbit who appears to be dying.
Julie's passion for animals takes over her life and her family's life. The more she gets, the more she desires but what she wants most of all, she can't have. She will not be allowed to own a dog before she is old enough to walk it by herself on the city streets which means he has a year and a half to go. That's far too long.
Julie's intense, charming, and very funny story is related in her own words, as imagined by her author/illustrator father, who has taken real life and put a hilarious and moving spin on it.
Review
"Children and adults alike will appreciate everything from over-the-top slapstick fiascos to Julie's wonderfully funny, insightful observations of pet-human and human-human dynamics." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Synopsis
In his first middle-grade novel in a decade, Feiffer tells a story of his nine-year-old daughter, Julie, who loves animals so much she's putting together a zoo of living creatures in her room. Illustrations.
About the Author
Jules Feiffer has won a number of prizes for his cartoons, plays, and screenplays, including the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. His books for children include The Man in the Ceiling; A Barrel of Laughs, a Vale of Tears; The Daddy Mountain; Bark, George; The House Across the Street; By the Side of the Road; and I'm Not Bobby! He lives in New York City.