Back in 2017
We were honoured to meet Rod Campbell
As guests of Milly and Flynn
Dear Zoo has been a favourite book for all our children
The classic lift the flap book is wonderful for reading aloud
It lends itself to sensory storytelling and bookish play
And has now been made into a theatre show
That we have had the pleasure of going to see
I took four children aged 2 – 9 to see the show
And they all thoroughly enjoyed it
It was exactly what it needed to be
A lively retelling of the famous story
With songs and lots of interaction
The children joined in with the songs
Did some jumping and dancing and roaring
There was lots of saying hello to the characters on stage
And joining in with repeated refrains and counting
Lots of counting
It is a perfect early years show
And a magical first theatre experience
Especially for young fans of the book
The story is told by a little boy, Ben
With his best friend, Sally
Ben has written a letter to the zoo
To ask for a pet
The man from the zoo, Sam
Brings lots of unsuitable animals for Ben and Sally to see
Once they realise what the animals are
Have a song and a dance with them
They do, of course, send them back
Just like in the book
Too big, too tall, too fierce
Until the perfect pet
A playful little puppy dog
The story reaches its happy conclusion
And everyone joins together
In singing the Dear Zoo song
The three actors in the show
Were very engaging
They were very good
At being children
Acting as small children
When you are a fully grown adult
Is not easy
And they did it well
Really well
The show runs for 55 minutes
And my children were all engaged throughout
Edie was calling out between each crate delivery
Which animal would be coming next
The big three were joining in at every opportunity
Each of the crates were true to the illustrations in the book
And I loved how the characters read the labels on each crate
The animals were as though lifted straight from the page
Until it came to the naughty monkey and the jumpy frog
These were a person dressed up
Which all the children were thought was wonderful
The snake was a cuddly puppet
As was the picture perfect puppy dog
The show was slick
The set simple
The props brightly coloured
And picked right out of the story
This dramatic retelling of a classic children’s book
Was designed to engage and enchant fans of this Rod Campbell
Young and young at heart
We have thought very hard
And declare this production
Perfect!
If you too would like to see Dear Zoo
The show is touring
And may well be in a theatre near you very soon
Check dates and places and book your tickets here
We were given our tickets free of charge in return for an honest review
My children loved Dear Zoo when they were little!
I’ve just started reading Dear Zoo with my son, a hand me down book from my daughter, he loves lifting the flaps. I love the idea of a stage show to bring the story to life and a perfect introduction to the theatre for little ones too.
We love the book Dear Zoo. The show looks great. I must take my children to the theatre more and something like this would be a great start for them.
My boys would love this. They love the book x
We love dear zoo! Looks like a great show. I love e children’s theatre
I love how theatre companies are bringing storybooks to life. We brought our son to see Room on the Broom a few years ago and he loved it.
My kids absolutely adore the book so would definitely love to see it live! Looks like great fun for the whole family.
Dear Zoo is a family favourite, they have all loved this book, and I can imagine it would make a great stage show for young ones, sounds like a great trip to the theatre.
My nephews would love this! 😊