Weekend Book Review: The Complete Zoo Adventure

How about a creation-based book written by a former-evolutionist-turned-creationist? Sounds pretty good, huh? That's what I thought.

I recently had the privilege of being able to review a complimentary copy of The Complete Zoo Adventure: A Field Trip in a Book from New Leaf Publishing Group. And all I have to say is that this book did not disappoint me.

This book is made to be a learning tool. It can be read through without a visit to the zoo, or you can make your summer zoo trip really cool and educational by following the plan this book offers and tucking it into your bag as you venture out to your local zoo.

To start, the reader reads seven very thoughtful devotionals that discuss our Creator, His creation, and other creation-supported biological facts about our planet. This part is really cool and really gets the kids focused on seeing creation as God's creation not some random, "by-chance" happening.

Then we move onto the "At The Zoo" section. Here you will find all the common animals you will view at the typical city zoo organized into the following categories: birds, paws & claws, hooves, reptiles, and amphibians.

Approximately 2-3 pages are devoted to each animal. Each section presents factual information in a very interesting, narrative, creation-based manner. There is a memory verse included for each animal as well as a small map showing where each animal lives. Each animals' class, order, family, genus, and species is also provided.

The last section, "After The Zoo" is a really fun section! This section includes lots of fun follow-up activities and worksheets for your children to do. Look at the following pics for a sample of some of the worksheets that are included...

And for the very reasonable price of this book, I couldn't believe that there is even a big pocket in the back of the book that holds 27 field fact cards, 7 biome cards, 3 field journals, and 12 name badges. A nice touch! And the field fact cards are pocket-sized and can be carried easily in your bag or purse if you don't feel like carrying the whole book into the zoo.

The kids and I have really enjoyed this book. We actually just received some free zoo tickets and were already planning our annual trip to our local city zoo. I believe that this book will make our trip even more educational and enriching, and we look forward to being able to utilize it!