The wonderful illustrations are what attracted me to the book at my local library. The characters however, are far from wonderful. What could have been a fun story about a family's trip to the zoo, was instead a story about a miserable family who could not get along. As a mother you are looking for positive stories to read to your children. This story did not provide anything positive. I was embarrassed to read this book to my child. Neither one of us enjoyed it at all. I would not recommend any books by Anthony Browne for families. Most of which I feel are very negative, and should not be marketed to children.