Candace Fleming
Cubs in the Tub: The True Story of the Bronx Zoo's First Woman Zookeper
Stealth Science
Why this book counts
- Life Science
- Biography / Memoir
- Nature Narrative / Field Discovery
- Story / Adventure
Cubs in the Tub tells how Helen Martini began bottle-feeding a lion cub at home and eventually became the Bronx Zoo's first woman zookeeper. The affectionate biography is built around neonatal animal care, changing responsibilities, and the point when growing wild cats must leave the household nursery.
The science inside
- Medicine & Health
- Animals & Zoology
- Scientific Discovery & Careers
Your child will meet:
- Very young mammals depend on appropriate feeding, warmth, sanitation, and close monitoring when normal maternal care is unavailable.
- Lion and tiger cubs grow into powerful wild animals whose needs cannot be met safely in an ordinary home.
- Zookeeping combines animal observation and care with facilities, records, expertise, and responsibility for welfare.
Use it this way
Parent effort: Quick discussion
Fred and Helen Martini longed for a baby, and they ended up with dozens of lion and tiger cubs! Snuggle up to this purr-fect read aloud about the Bronx Zoo's first female zookeeper. When Bronx Zookeeper Fred brings home a lion cub whose mother lost the instinct to care for him, Helen Martini instantly embraces it. "Just do for him what you would do with a human baby," Fred suggests...and she does. Helen names him MacArthur, feeds him milk from a bottle, and coos him to sleep in a crib. Soon, MacArthur isn't the only cub bathing in the Martini's tub! The couple continues to raise lion and tiger cubs as their own, until they are old enough to return to zoos. Helen becomes the first female zookeeper at the Bronx Zoo, the keeper of the nursery. Cubs in the Tub is a terrific non-fiction book to read aloud while snuggling up with your cubs. Filled with adorable baby big cats, this is a story about love, dedication, and a new kind of family. Gorgeously patterned illustrations by Julie Downing detail the in-home nursery, and a warm pallet creates a cozy pairing with Candace Fleming's lovely language. Backmatter includes a short biography of Helen Martini and a selected bibliography. A Junior Library Guild Selection A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year Named to the Texas Topaz Reading List
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Price:
Shipping calculated at checkout.Regular price $8.99
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