Betty & Friends: My Life At The Zoo (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
This book starts with the following: "I realize there are those whose minds are irrevocably set against the entire concept of zoos and consequently see only negatives. They have every right to their opinion and I respect it. As for me, however, I am a confirmed zoophile, and I particularly appreciate the positive changes that have taken place in the whole zoo community over the past few decades and the critical role they play today in perpetuating endangered species." My view could not be stated more precisely, and there was even more to adore from there....lovely pictures, her in-depth interactions with animals over the years, and her financial support of the L.A. Zoo and others. It was just delightful. This is a difficult review to write."Betty & Friends" features a number of photographs of animals, along with author Betty White's recollections of meeting or observing them - plus a factoid or two along the way.EXCEPT ...a) Some of these photos do not feature animals that Betty has a background with (at least not one she makes obvious); they're incredible photos, but the captions provide no illumination.b) Some of those captions do not provide any significant detail; in fact, they consist of one short sentence. "The giant tortoise can live for more than 100 years." This sentence does not require a whole page of its own; worst case is it could be included at the bottom of the photo. Best case - it could be fleshed out.c) There is so much white space - totally blank pages (consecutive blank pages!), wide margins, and the previously mentioned lack of verbiage.My wife described it as a "coffee table book in miniature". Except even most of those have more content.The book is very good for what it is, and the photos ARE outstanding, but my disappointment is it could have been so much more with just a little more effort.
What do You think about Betty & Friends: My Life At The Zoo (2011)?
I wish there had been more info about the animals, but the pics were cute.
—Steph
My 3 year old daughter picked this out at the library. We both loved it.
—Favour
Fantastic! Great little stories and wonderful pictures!
—denise
A quick and interesting read with beautiful pictures!
—Camz
