94 Books Like Vampenguin

This is Your Brain on Stereotypes takes a deep dive into not just our conscious prejudices but our unconscious biases as well as systemic bias and stereotypes.

It looks not only at how to recognize our biases, but also how to change them and what it will take to change society’s systemic racism. It uses research, statistics, and anecdotes and it may make us feel uncomfortable at times. That uncomfortable feeling is one of discovery—and it’s the first step toward making meaningful change through critical analysis.

One of the best things about this book is the fabulous illustrations! Bold, bright, and very silly, they totally capture the essence of this very funny story about a little girl who desperately wants a dog. She is overjoyed with the ‘dog’ she gets for her birthday except, he won’t do anything dogs are supposed to do! He won’t come when he’s called, won’t go for walks, doesn’t like other dogs, etc. However, he is very good at climbing trees, (but won’t come down), likes to play in the fish water…doesn’t bark at the mailman, doesn’t have accidents on the floor… maybe that’s because this dog is actually a…cat! 

I definitely understand why this book is a five-time award winner!

I like a challenge, so I was drawn to how this concept picture book tackles a challenging topic, making it fun and accessible. While colorful robots dance and bicker, the text asks readers to evaluate statements to determine if they’re facts or opinions. Readers learn to question information and to respect the opinions of others, skills many adults haven’t mastered. The best thing about this book is that it fosters critical thinking.

This series is critical thinking on steroids. The reader is given three fact-filled stories and has to figure out which one isn’t true. Is there really a pit in Turkmenistan that has been burning for 40 years? Are there radioactive boars in Japan? Did Edgar Allan Poe carry his dead wife’s remains around in a snuffbox? The reader has to find facts and think critically to figure them out. There are three books in the series each with 27 stories, nine of which aren’t true. I recommend younger readers have an adult handy because the book is a bit more complicated to navigate than, say, a novel. End matter provides additional information including websites to help the reader analyze each article. Oh, and the three facts? Yes, yep and heck no.

Another cornerstone of kindness is being in community. This is something I try to highlight in my own books. At its heart, this is about a community—one comprised of animals of various sorts, including a human.

Zookeeper Amos McGee spends so much time taking care of his animal friends every day. When he gets a cold, his friends know they need to step up and show him the same kind of care attention he shows to them. We’re all in this together. 

A shooter in a zoo might not sound like the premise for an exploration of motherhood, but this brilliantly paced thriller is just that. On a day trip to the zoo with her four-year-old son, Joan must flee from a gunman, a task made all the more complicated by having to simultaneously negotiate the quotidian questions and tasks of parenting.

A hungry child, or one who needs the toilet, can be challenging at the best of times, let alone while hiding in an empty animal enclosure trying to avoid imminent death! Ultimately, the primary role of any parent is to keep their child alive. Fierce Kingdom puts this ordinary occupation in extraordinary circumstances, and the result is utterly compelling. 

What's not to love about the bouncy, perfect rhyme and zany illustrations of a day at the zoo packed with action and humorous touches? But this board book has more subtle layers, too. While the first few spreads show the zookeeper getting animals ready for opening, the viewpoint shifts to the animal's thoughts on the humans:

My, what silly things they do,/ all these creatures at the zoo.

The following pages detail actions common to people and zoo animals like dancing feet, carrying babies, and shrieking. I've often thought that if we humans could keep in mind that we’re animals, too, we’d be better at sharing the planet with them. This simple and simply hilarious book does that in a way humans of all ages can appreciate.

I love historical fiction, and I love stories within stories and this novel is both! It’s set at the end of World War II, just after the Allied bombing of Dresden. We’re following 16-year-old Elizabeth, her Mutti, her little brother Karli, and a downed Swiss-Canadian airman as they flee to safety near Heidelberg in the company of—yes, really—an elephant! A story of survival, of endurance, of building lives. The human relationships, in a dark and dangerous time, are brightened by the unexpected presence of one remarkable animal. 

When Lily looks out of her bedroom window she gets the best surprise – a doggy! But this is no ordinary doggy. There’s been an escape from the zoo… Readers know from the outset Lily’s new pet is really a bear. Hear them shout ‘but he’s not a dog!’

Even Lily notices he’s quite big ‘for a dog’, but insists on taking him for a walk and teaching him tricks, none of which he is any good at. Unfortunately, the zookeeper recognises his bear from the ‘lost doggy’ poster Lily’s mum makes her display. She must give him back.

A beautifully illustrated story, full of optimism and a little girl’s irrepressibly wonderful outlook on life. It will have you laughing all the way from beginning to the cheerful final twist.

I think I was born rhyming, and it was all my dad’s fault. He could turn anything into a rhyme, which is probably why I’ve always championed Dr. Seuss. Add in animals, like this book, and you’ve got one of my favorite children’s books.

Parents and teachers who have read the book out loud can’t help but be caught up in the joyful rhythm and inventive rhyme. I love the flights of imagination and wild, crazy animals in this delightful zoo. Little listeners smile all the way through, and when the book ends, their imaginations will continue to soar.