The Universal Zoo

33 fantastic space creatures roam freely through this unique poetry collection

Every creature has a place at the far end of Space, in the Universal Zoo. Look out for the Shy Shimmereen, the snoozing Snoralotz, the Invisible Ballaboo Beast and the Ten-Legged, Swivel-Headed, Bushy-Bearded, Twirly-Tailed Horrox. Meet the Martian kids with two heads, and stare at the Enormous Egg. And if you think dragons don't exist and dodos are extinct, then think again. But never, never, never feed the Gronk! A riot of imagination and fun, these poems also send a message about conservation and saving species.

“Hugely imaginative”

"This collection of poetry is a celebration of words, sounds and language. Bursting with alliteration, rhyme and a rich variety of verse styles, this book is anarchic, unique and lots of fun... The illustrations by Will Hughes of the imaginary creatures are lively and entertaining, and really bring the poems to life. Full of tongue-twisting energy, this collection would be great fun for families to read out aloud together, as well as being a fantastic introduction to those new to poetry. This would also be wonderful and inspiring classroom material - teachers would undoubtedly find it useful for inspiring interesting conversations about the diversity of life, and for teaching alliteration, simile and rhyme. In fact, there is even a helpful section at the back, encouraging young readers to become poets. We would certainly recommend this lively collection!"

Neal Zetter is a comedy performance poet, children's author (of eight poetry books), and entertainer with a 25-year background in communication management and mentoring. He uses his interactive, rhythmic, rhyming poetry to to develop literacy, confidence, creativity and communication in everyone from age 3 to 103. Neal runs his fun poetry writing and performance workshops daily in schools and libraries, with children and adults all over the UK. More challenging workshops have included those with learning difficulties, brain injury, mental health, drug/alcohol problems, offenders, and the homeless. He lives in London.


Will Hughes is an illustrator and author of children books. He studied at Hereford College of Art followed by a degree in Illustration at the University of Edinburgh. He was chosen for the 2018-19 Picture Hooks mentoring scheme. He lives is in Malvern, Worcestershire.

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