Name: ________________________________

Visiting the Zoo

Today was Brooke’s favorite day of the year! It was “Bring your Child to Work
Day”. Brooke’s mother, Laura, is a zookeeper at the Depp City Wildlife and Zoological
Center. Brooke had been waiting all year long for this day because she was finally old
enough to be a part of “African Animals Adventure.”
During the twenty-minute ride to the zoo, Brooke eagerly rattled off the names
of her favorite African animals. Her mother quizzed her on her knowledge of polar bears
and the members of the ape and reptile families. They ran through the schedule for the
day and Brooke’s excitement grew.
They arrived at exactly 8:00 a.m. Laura and Brooke walked through the employee
entrance gate and Laura scanned her badge. A kind man named Robert introduced
himself as the “Zoo Kids’ Group Leader” for the day. He showed them the way to the
group check-in table, where Brooke received her very own uniform and badge.
Robert announced the expectations and rules for the day over a loud speaker. He
stated, “This year for our Zoo Kids Program, we are going to be doing things a little bit
differently. Instead of spending a little bit of time over all parts of the zoo, you will
spend a longer amount of time in one specific part of the zoo. This will allow you to truly
understand the habitat, animals, and requirements for this location.” Robert assigned
each pair a “zone.” The zone was going to be where the
parent-child pairs focused their work for the day.
“Teresa Charles and son, Maddox: Reptile House;
Mike Jenkins and daughter, Amy: Bird House…”
Brooke anxiously waited to hear their assignment.
Please, be Wild Africa, Brooke thought. “Laura
Foster and daughter, Brooke: Arctic Animals.”
Brooke hung her head in disappointment.
“How exciting!” her Mom exclaimed. “We are going to
have so much fun with the penguins and polar bears!
You won’t believe how interesting the Arctic is!” Brooke forced a smile, but thought to
herself I just want to learn about the African animals.
Brooke and her mother made their way to the Arctic Animals Exhibit. They went
in the visitors’ entrance to the exhibit and read about the animals they would be working
©Tobin, Apr. 2017
 with. Brooke read a polar bear’s skin is black so this it can absorb heat from the sun and
that a polar bear’s fur is actually translucent, not white. She saw the arctic fox and even
got to feed the zoo’s three walruses.
Then, Laura scanned her badge at a door that was marked “Employees Only.” The
door opened to a hallway with several other doors along its walls. They took the third door
on the right. Laura and Brooke were in a room with lots of equipment. There was a
stainless steel table and cabinets full of medical supplies and tools. A man walked in with a
small cage. It was Robert! He placed the crate onto the table and unlatched the door.
“Would you like to observe?” he asked Brooke, who nodded her head timidly.
Brooke approached the table cautiously. As Robert opened the door to the crate, a
very small penguin slowly inched forward. He wrapped his two hands gently around the
penguin’s body and Laura used the back of one hand to stroke the penguin’s head. “This is
Juniper,” Laura said.
They checked Juniper’s health by listening to her heart, looking at her eyes and ears,
and inspecting her wings and feet. When Robert started assessing Juniper’s feathers,
Brooke heard him mumble something to her mom and they began to furrow their brows.
“Brooke, it looks like you’ll get to learn a bit more than you thought you would today.”
Robert went on to teach Brooke about a penguin’s feathers. She was able to see the
penguins outer layer of waterproof feathers and the inner layer of densely packed down-
feathers that help her stay insulated and warm. Her feathers had some bare patches and
her skin had some red spots. So, Robert explained that a penguins feathers can help us
determine if they are feeling well or not. “Juniper seems to be under the weather right
now, so we will treat her skin and feathers with an ointment. We will also need to give her
medicine.”
Worriedly, Brooke asked Robert, “Is Juniper going to be okay?” He put the bottle of
medicine down and looked at Brooke. “Juniper will be alright. Animals get sick, too. That is
why people like your mom are so important. It is her job to check the heath and wellness of
our animals. So, if an animal is unwell, like Juniper, we will figure out what is ailing her and
treat it. The medicine we are giving Juniper is an antibiotic, like the ones you take if you
are sick. It will make her feel better in no time!”
The rest of the day went very similar. Laura, Brooke, and Robert assessed the
health of animals in the Arctic Animals Exhibit, one by one. They treated some animals that
needed it and sent others back into their exhibits. Brooke was having so much fun! As she
and her mom headed for the car at the end of the day, Brooke said, “Mom, I learned a lot
today. I want to be a zoologist just like you and Robert when I grow up!”
©Tobin, Apr. 2017
Name: _______________________________

Visiting the Zoo Questions

1. What is the setting in the story? How does it affect the character(s)?
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2. Describe the conflict in the story. Underline the support for this answer in
red.
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3. What is the resolution? Describe how the problem is solved.
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4. Describe how Laura changed throughout the story.
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©Tobin, Apr. 2017