The Day the Zoo Broke Loose by Elliot T. Smith is a delightful romp that blends whimsy and chaos in the best possible way! The story kicks off with a zany twist when the animals at the zoo decide they've had enough of their cages and break free, leading to a hilarious series of adventures.

Smith’s playful illustrations perfectly complement the text, bringing the antics of the mischievous animals to life. Each page is bursting with color and energy, making it a visual treat for readers of all ages. The humor is spot-on, filled with clever wordplay and charming moments that will have kids giggling.

At its heart, this book is a celebration of freedom, friendship, and a little bit of fun-filled mayhem. It’s a perfect read-aloud for storytime, sure to spark laughter and imagination. Whether you’re a kid or just a kid at heart, The Day the Zoo Broke Loose is a joyful escape into a world where anything can happen—and often does! Grab a copy and get ready for a wild ride!

The day the zoo broke loose by Elliot T. Smith, is a great mix of metaphors and real life experiences of everyday childhood .
The day the zoo broke loose would be a great addition to classrooms of children 6 and over !

First off, the title and cover illustration is adorable! I, like many of the other reviewers, expected this to be tailored toward younger, elementary school children, so when I saw the chapters, I was a bit thrown off. I read this to my 4 year old who enjoyed most of it. She loved the creative names of the characters and all the animals. It was a bit too long for her, so even with me reading it to her, she lost interest occasionally. The story would benefit from more images and perhaps a little shorter for the younger reader. As a parent, I enjoyed the premise of the story. It was atypical in a good way! It was a cute story mixed with a mystery. This was our first "kids" ARC and a fun review.

Like others, I thought this was a children's book based on the (adorable!) cover, and was surprised to find chapters inside. I liked the use of multicultural names and backgrounds of the characters. I agree with other reviewers that some of the dialog of the characters was oddly phrased and not really how kids talk. Would have loved to see more illustrations inside to match the eye-catchy outside.

Like many of the reviewers, I was expecting a picture book for younger children. Having said that, I really did quite enjoy this and my youngest grandchild is quite an advanced reader and she really liked this book. A nice read together book.

I was a bit mislead by the cover of this book. I figured based on the illustration it would be a book for younger children. However, it is a chapter book with no pictures. I thought some of the text in the book didn’t fit what a child would say.

Thank you to NetGally for letting me get a sneak peak into this book.

Originally requested this book because the book cover caught my attention. I thought this was a Children book. But it was more of a chapter book it is for a kiddo with more advanced reading skills. It’s a chapter book has zero pictures.

But with all that aside it was a good read for my older child he is 12. He was able to read it and it kept him engaged.

I was expecting this to be a picture book but with that being said my daughter is too young for chapter books BUT I am so excited to add it to her shelf for when she does understand as is ready for that next step in reading. I read it myself because I was curious and it was such a cute read for advanced readers

The book was beautifully written. The author made careful word choices that were very impactful. Overall, the book was well written and I did really enjoy it.

DNF’d

So there’s a few issues with the book, firstly the cover tricked me into thinking that this was a children’s book, but it’s actually a chapter book with zero pics, so it was above age for my almost 7 year old we tried and she got bored in a few pages. I was just going to read it myself but I got like 30 pages in a had to give it up. Now I’m not sure if this book was translated into English, I tried to look up the author and there wasn’t much info on them, but it just read really weird. Some of the words used would never Ben used in real life and when the kids were talking they were talking like awkward adults, again using sentences or phrases that didn’t sound like a kid would say.
I’m not sure I would recommend this read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Victory Editing.

A creative story, but my child would have enjoyed more illustrations in this book. I believe that the target audience is for early elementary children.

This is a great book for kids that are into chapter books!

It is not very a long chapter book and it was easy to follow.

There are no illustrations in the book, which when I first saw this book cover I thought it was going to be a children's book with vibrant illustrations throughout, but that has nothing to do with my rating. Just letting other readers know that, this is a chapter book, not a picture book!