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School Library Journal
Reviewed on March 1, 2003
Gr 1-3 Helen Martini cared for both lion and tiger cubs in her New York City apartment before building the Bronx Zoo's first nursery back in 1944. This simple account of how her husband and then Helen herself became animal keepers draws on Martini's long out-of-print adult book, My Zoo Family (Harper, 1955). Lyon places an introductory segment before the title page, inviting readers into the experience of the first lion cub Martini took in: "Suppose you were a lion cub-abandoned.- and a man came in...Log In or Sign Up to Read More
Horn Book Magazine
Reviewed on May 1, 2003
In 1944 Helen Martini started the first nursery at the Bronx Zoo, raising not only twenty-seven tiger cubs but also becoming a "mother" to a host of other baby animals, including gorillas, chimpanzees, deer, and lemurs. The book's front matter asks readers to focus on the plight of MacArthur, the first of Martini's charges: "Suppose you were a lion cub—abandoned. / Suppose you lay hungry and cold / in the straw at the back of the den, / and a man came in the cage / and lifted you into a ca...Log In or Sign Up to Read More
