Something strange is happening at the Clarksville City Zoo. Late at night, monkeys are scaling the walls and searching the neighborhood—but what are they looking for? This middle grade novel is an excellent choice for tween readers in grades 5 to 6, especially during homeschooling. It’s a fun way to keep your child entertained and engaged while not in the classroom.

Noah, his sister Megan, and their best friends, Richie and Ella, live next door to the zoo. Megan is the first to notice the puzzling behavior of some of the animals. One day Megan disappears, and her brother and their friends realize it's up to them to find her. Their only choice is to follow a series of clues and sneak into the zoo. But once inside, will they discover there's much more to the Clarksville City Zoo than they could ever have guessed?

Length: 308 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled	Audible book: Audible book Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible book with Whispersync for Voice. Add the Audible book for a reduced price of $10.99 when you buy the Kindle book. Available	Age Level: 8 - 12
Grade Level: 3 - 7

Books In This Series (6 Books)

Complete Series

The Secret Zoo

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1
The Secret Zoo

(710)

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$7.99
2
The Secret Zoo: Secrets and Shadows

(179)

Kindle Edition

$6.99
3
The Secret Zoo: Riddles and Danger

(128)

Kindle Edition

$6.99
4
The Secret Zoo: Traps and Specters

(100)

Kindle Edition

$6.99
5
The Secret Zoo: Raids and Rescues

(88)

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$6.99
6
The Secret Zoo: The Final Fight

(71)

Kindle Edition

$6.99

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“An action-packed and breathless story about teamwork . . . the story should appeal both to animal-lovers and a broader audience.”

From the Back Cover

Something strange is happening at the Clarksville City Zoo. Late at night, monkeys are scaling the walls and searching the neighborhood—but what are they looking for?

File Size: 954 KB
Print Length: 308 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books; Reprint edition (May 18, 2010)
Publication Date: June 1, 2010
Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
Language: English
ASIN: B003MVZ3WE
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:

Enabled
Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported
Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #363 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #1 in Children's Fantasy & Supernatural Mystery Books
- #1 in Children's Zoo Books (Kindle Store)
- #1 in Children's Mystery & Detective Adventure

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Customer reviews

5 star		77%
4 star		15%
3 star		3%
2 star		2%
1 star		3%

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A Customer

A Caution

Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2013

Just a caution. My 11 year old was enjoying this book, until he came to this part: page 198: "...his mother fell down the stairs... [she] was hurt so badly that she couldn't move; she'd broken her legs and an arm, and she had other internal damage. Little Frederick was the only person who could help. but being so young [9] and frightened, he didn't know what to do. He simply held his mother at the bottom of the stairs and screamed. By the time they were discovered, Frederick's mother had died."

I felt that was a little unnecessarily traumatic. If your child is a gentle soul, or a hero-type like mine, this may be a little disturbing. It gave him bad dreams. I would have liked to have known about this before he started reading it, so maybe another parent will benefit from the fore-knowledge.

3,835 people found this helpful

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Melanie J. Dulaney

Fantasy series for readers of Fablehaven, etc.

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2018

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My rating of 3 stars is probably lower than what my 4th and 5th grade readers of animal-fantasy will give it. For them, the ability for animals, zoo and those thought to be extinct, to travel between the natural world and a more fantastic one is likely to grab their attention immediately. Throwing in a group of four friends with a treehouse fort who seek out adventure, a missing club member, developing relationships between humans and animals, evil Sasquatch creatures, and some magic means that I will buy this series for both my libraries. It is my hope that in future installments that Chick backs off the over-describing and the grandstanding/gushing done by Mr. Darby as he pleads his case for the saving of the Secret Zoo and the council that supports its existence. I am also hoping for a bit more depth in the character development of our four Action Scouts and more subtlety in setting us up for subsequent books. With this being his first book and it having such a unique premise, I am looking forward to watching the series unfold and improve in literary quality. But I will purchase them one at a time as I read them to be sure that aspect does improve. I recommend this book for readers in grades 4-8 who enjoy series such as Mull’s Fablehaven and O’Hearn’s Pegasus.

39 people found this helpful

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David N. Groshans

Poorly written story

Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2019

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The story was predictable and a lot of cliches. The writing was poor, even for a children's book. But overall it was a good read. There was death in the story that might upset some parents. I am sure a good parent will work this out without freaking out their child. Areas that defy physical laws was covered by claiming "magic" or just ignored. The overall worse concept is that adults put children in danger that the adults could have done them selves.

25 people found this helpful

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Chad Baker

Perfect for reading to kids at bedtime

Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2019

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Short chapters, engaging story. Curious obsession with animal heads "rolling" and the word "rump" on the part of the author which induces giggles, but otherwise very enjoyable book broken into short chapters for reading at bedtime. My kids love it. A little spooky in places, but not so much that we had to stop reading. Even Disney movies have spooky themes. It's a multiple book series, so the story doesn't move much in each book. We're on book 3 now and hooked. Kids won't go to bed without it.

14 people found this helpful

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Felicia

Great!

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2017

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I read to my children each night age ( 7 & 9 ). I don't normally purchase a book with this many chapters but this book has held more sons attention nightly, they can't wait for me to read to them which make bed time much easier. P.S. I enjoy the story line as well, I highly recommend it.

16 people found this helpful

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Grandma B who reads

She loved it. Parts she read herself and parts I ...

Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2015

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I bought this book for my 7 (almost 8) year old Granddaughter. She loved it. Parts she read herself and parts I read to her. For her there were parts that were 'kinda scary' and parts that made her laugh out loud. She is thinking about passing book 1 on to a friend. I just ordered her book 2; to quote my Granddaughter, "I can't wait!".

19 people found this helpful

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Author David Anthony

A Secret for All Ages

Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2014

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The Secret Zoo by Bryan Chick is a fun, fast-paced story about friendship, family, and (best of all) awesome animals. Mr. Chick seamlessly blends mystery and magic into a modern fairy tale, part detective novel and part adventure into Narnia.

I downloaded The Secret Zoo after hearing about it at a local elementary school. I'm glad I did. I read it out loud to my 10-year-old (at the time) son and wife. We all enjoyed the book. The main characters are nice kids that my son could identify with. He especially liked Richie, the comic-relief character and adorable goofball. All of the characters, though, took a backseat to the awesome animals. I think I've mentioned them. Along their adventures in the Secret Zoo, the Action Scouts (the name the heroes give themselves collectively) meet and befriend polar bears, rhinos, prairie dogs, and more. They also encounter scary (age appropriate) sasquatches! What's not to like?

All animal fans and everyone who has ever wondered where all the locked doors and mysterious nooks and crannies in a zoo lead should read this fun book.

18 people found this helpful

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KOK

My 7 year old loves this book and won't put ...

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2016

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My 7 year old loves this book and won't put it down. He struggles with some of the "bigger" words but overall doing well reading it. He is already looking forward to the next one.

9 people found this helpful

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Top international reviews

Vironment

Christmas present

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 20, 2020

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Christmas present for granddaughter , hopefully she’ll enjoy it

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Fizzymonkey

Bought as a present - but liked it so much I bought two.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 10, 2017

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I bought this after a recommendation through TED. The first I gave as a present and it was a big hit. So much so I have bought a second copy.

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N Max

Would recommend

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 26, 2014

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Both my 7 and 9 year old love this story. They are enchanted by the story and beg for more chapters every night! Some chapters are very short making it ideal for a bedtime story. The story is gripping keeping me as interested as them!

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Poppy

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 15, 2017

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Loved by my granddaughter!

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Mr Matthew S Twyford

the best book in the world

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2015

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This book is the beat book in the world and it is even better than Harry Potter.this book is the best!

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A. Lucas

Fantastic book - for all ages.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 30, 2011

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I bought this to read to my 6 year old son at bedtime - and found myself reading on after he'd fallen asleep each evening!! It's such an exciting and interesting concept - a group of children who discover there is far more to the local Zoo than they ever imagined! Their adventures are amazing, and the animals they befriend are great characters. I can't wait for the next book to come out so we can find out what happens next.

One person found this helpful

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Aahay

Good book

Reviewed in India on July 30, 2019

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I like it

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