Review of “Hailey, Let's Meet Some Fabulous Safari Animals!” by John Zander

Score: 92+/100 (9.2+ out of 10)

Hailey, Let's Meet Some Fabulous Safari Animals! is a simple, sweet, and to the point children's book by John Zander. This book is for every child who loves animals, particularly those they'd likely find in the zoo like elephants, giraffes, and rhinoceroses.

Not all children's books have to be over-the-top with their illustrations. Not all children's book have to be big, bold, and didactic with their messages.

Sometimes, simplicity works. In fact, often times simplicity is best. Sometimes, you just need a book that you can pick up and pop out at any time, whether it be at circle time, reading time, or bedtime. Sometimes, you just need a book that will appeal to all children regardless of their age or attention span.

And, let's face it... What kid doesn't like animals?! Seriously!

Sometimes, it's better not to overthink things. There are things that are universally loved: food, free stuff, and animals!

However, this book isn't just a pretty book with some animals, it actually provides quite a bit of education and insight into them while not going overboard.

We actually learned a few things.

For example, we knew that cheetahs were fast, but we didn't realize they could run up to 70 miles per hour! We also didn't know that elephants could weigh up to 10,000 lbs. or that crocodiles can replace their teeth up to 50 times! Those are some jaw-dropping stats!

We briefly mentioned that the illustrations were simplistic, however, it could be argued that they're perfect for what they're supposed to be. Also, “simplistic” may not be giving the illustrator enough credit.

For one thing, the style of the illustrations is consistent throughout the book—from page to page. Each and every character/animal is bright, colorful, appealing, cute, and adorable. Furthermore, each of the backgrounds is different, unique, and surprisingly detailed. That's easy to overlook when so much of the attention is on the featured animal of each page.

The concept and execution of this book is solid. In fact, the concept behind this whole children's book series is fascinating. We're not exactly sure who the titular Hailey is, but this book is specifically written to them and for them. Each book in the series seems to feature different kinds of animals and be written to a different child, which is really sweet and beautiful.

If you have an animal-loving child in your household or classroom, then look no further than this.

Check it out on Amazon!