Harry Hiccers: A New Zoo
Written by Angela Larson, Illustrated by Traci Dibble,
Page 1
Sitting in a tree you can see far into the distance. I also like that all of the things that are scary and new are far away- down there.
Page 2
I'm a koala. My name is
Harry Hiccers and I live up
here with my family.
We walk on the ground
to move from tree to tree,
but we mostly stay up high.
Page 3
We are new to this zoo. In Australia, there were too many koalas living on too few trees. This zoo had trees but no koalas, so we moved.
Page 4
Many things are different here, which is why I like sitting high and safe in the branches that serve as my dinner as well as my home.
Page 5
We koalas mostly eat Eucalyptus. We all just LOVE these leaves.
Page 6
Even though my brother thinks I'm silly, I like to explore what else could be on the menu.
Page 7
But when I snack on leaves other
than Eucalyptus, I get the hiccups.
Page 8
When I have the hiccups, I sound
silly, I have a hard time talking,
and I have to hold onto a branch
until the hiccups stop.
Page 9
This afternoon, I was sitting in a tree, holding on and hiccupping, when I heard the snap of a leaf being plucked. Then I heard a grinding, chewing sound. These are familiar sounds, like my family eating. Yet something was different.
Page 10
I looked in the direction of the sound and saw another leaf being snapped off a branch. Instead of my family, I saw a huge nose! Just a nose! What enormous animal was up here in the tree with me? Was it a monster?
Page 11
The nose poked in again and a tongue so dark blue it was almost black reached out, snapping a bunch of leaves off the branch. There were no hands holding on. There was no bottom sitting on the branch. What was this gigantic animal with the huge nose and blue-black tongue? I gathered up my courage and moved a branch over to better see.
Page 12
There stood an animal that was tall and long like a tree. Its spots looked like tree bark patchwork. And its eyes were as big as its nose.
Page 13
I hiccupped. The animal
looked at me. He blinked,
winked, smiled, and said,
"Hello." I too blinked,
winked, smiled, and said,
"Hello," followed by "hiccup."
Page 14
"I see I've startled you, giving you the hiccups. My apologies. My name is Charles." He sounded very official.
Page 15
"Hiccup. No worries mate. You did startle me- hiccup- but the hiccups are from eating leaves from this tree- hiccup- instead of the Eucalyptus. My name is Harry, Harry Hiccers Hiccup-."
Page 16
"I heard that a family of koalas was moving in. But I didn't expect to see you over here. Do you need directions or information? Everyone asks the giraffes for directions and information as we can see far and supervise from above," said Charles.
Page 17
"Is that what you are, a giraffe?" I asked. "I've not met a great tall animal like you before," I said.
"Yes, I'm Charles Longfellow the Third. I'm actually fourth generation here at this zoo." He continued...
Page 18
"You are now in the African kingdom area. Given you are from Australia, I imagine most of the animals you see on this side will be new to you. The Australian range is just across that hill. I can see your family in the trees."
"-Hiccup- Wow, Charles -Hiccup- You are informative and you know your directions- Hiccup," I said.
Page 19
"Harry, if you
would be so
kind-I may be tall,
but I'm afraid to
say I'm not tall enough to reach
those beautiful leaves just one
branch higher. Would you be willing
to push them my way?"
Of course, I was happy to assist.
I sat on the branch,
and Charles stretched from
his tippy-tippy-toes to
the tip of his tongue to just
barely reach the leaves.
Page 20
While chewing, Charles asked, "How do you like your new home?"
Page 21
"Honestly,
I'm still a
bit scared.
Everything
is new
and different.
I was hiding
in this tree,"
I admitted to him.
Page 22
"But Harry, you have such curiosity! Your curiosity pushed you to try food beyond Eucalyptus, and there's a lot more out in the zoo than just leaves! You can't avoid new things- you met me even though you were hiding. So go with your curiosity and explore!"
Page 23
"Wow. I never thought about
it like that, Charles- Hiccup-
I think I AM ready to explore.
This can be an- hiccup-
adventure," I said.
Page 24
"Well, I'm most pleased to be of service,"
said Charles. "Do stop by again tomorrow.
I'll introduce you to Ray.
Like you, Ray tends to move
about the zoo- he's a bird."
"That sounds great!" I said.
Page 25
I settled in for a nap, thinking this new place might be pretty good.
Page 26
I was excited about making
another new friend tomorrow.
