What the Sleepy Animals Do at the Audubon Zoo

by Grace Millsaps, Ryan Murphy, John Clark IV (Illustrator), Alyson Kilday (Illustrator)

Overview

Rhinos rock out. Alligators stroll under limbo polls. Elephants pound the piano. Pelicans cater.

Ever wonder why the animals at the zoo are always so sleepy? When Renee asks her father why the zoo animals are snoozing all day, he dreams up an elaborate answer. At night, the monkeys steal the zookeeper's keys, and all of the animals come out of their cages to dance, eat, and play. By the time the visitors arrive in the morning, the animals are all tuckered out. Renee doesn't believe her father’s tale, but dads have a way of being right about these things.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780988760318
Publisher:	The Sleepy Animals, LLC
Publication date:	05/01/2014
Edition description:	Second edition
Pages:	42
Sales rank:	95,184
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Grace Millsaps is a preschool teacher and author who has taught children on three continents. Ryan Murphy is a performer at The New Movement Theater, a proud member of the 610 Stompers, a licensed tour guide, and, just for fun, a barred attorney in the state of Louisiana. He taught at Heilongjiang Institute of Technology and wrote for China Economic Review magazine. Millsaps and Murphy are the coauthors of You Wouldn’t Like Me Without My Coffee. John Clark IV is graphic designer and illustrator who cofounded the creative agency Hop & Jaunt.  He is the cartoonist of the Today in NOLA cartoon which celebrates the quirks of life in New Orleans. Alyson Kilday is the cofounder and creative director of Hop & Jaunt a design. She has lived and visited over a dozen countries and is fluent in both Japanese and Spanish. They all live in New Orleans.

Editorial Reviews

"A whimsical, fantastical tale."  —The Times-Picayune


 "It’s clear these guys know NOLA and the sometimes-sleepy animals that live there, and their love for the city shines through in this sweet story."  —Nerdy With Children


"This book has beautifully detailed illustrations and off-the-charts imagination.”  —Indiegogo

From the Publisher

09/29/2014
The husband-and-wife team of Millsaps and Murphy, along with Clark and Kilday of the Hop and Jaunt design firm, debut with a jaunty story whose publication was funded through crowdsourced contributions. In it, they tackle a question that has plagued zoo-goers as long as there have been zoos: Why are all the animals sleeping? A girl named Renee asks her father this question during their visit to New Orleans’s Audubon Zoo, triggering a long, inventive explanation on his part—namely that the animals were up all night throwing a wild shindig. While there are a few shaky moments in the meter and rhyme of Millsaps and Murphy’s verse, it provides amusing setups aplenty: “The sea lions sometimes will synchronize swim./ There’s a costume contest and everyone wins./ The best one at limbo is the white alligator,/ and when they get hungry, the pelicans cater” (directly from their bills, which are stuffed with jambalaya, gumbo, and more). Clark and Kilday’s polished cartoons are full of entertainingly goofy details—green hippos, purple seals, and other not-found-in-nature combos are in keeping with the silly, free-spirited mood. Ages 4–8. (BookLife)

Publishers Weekly

"A whimsical, fantastical tale"

Times Picayune - Cate Root

"It's clear these guys know NOLA and the sometimes-sleepy animals that live there, and their love for the city shines through in this sweet story."

Nerdy With Children

"This book has beautifully detailed illustrations and off-the-charts imagination."

Indiegogo