The Greatest Zoo on Earth

Valentina Cesaratto is a high-school teacher specializing in dramatic
arts and film studies.

After searching for three years, J. Quigley Dumbleton brings back many
fantastic animals to New York City and builds the Greatest Zoo on Earth.
People from all over the city pay to see the animals in the zoo and the
zookeeper becomes a wealthy man. However, a serious problem develops
with the animals—they become very sad and begin to waste away.

With the help of Jeremy Pennywhistle, the assistant cage sweeper,
Dumbleton learns by way of some interesting animal adventures that it is
not enough to bring the animals to where people live, that it is
important to leave the animals in their home environment. So the
zookeeper returns all the animals to the natural world and gets even
richer when the people pay to go and see them there.

Frank Edwards’s interesting little story teaches youngsters a
valuable lesson in ecology. John Bianchi’s colorful, comical
illustrations add an element of fun. Highly recommended.