The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate – Book Review

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate – Book Review

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate with Illustrations by Patricia Castelao was a surprising hit recently with our book club. From our youngest member, at 6 years old, to the elementary kids, the young teen, and even the parents all were enthusiastic and excited for our discussion. It was one of the most positive responses we’ve had to any of our titles so far.

I believe it works so well for so many different ages and people because it has subtle layers. The story is told from the point of view of Ivan, a gorilla who lives in a roadside mall arcade attraction. He doesn’t like to remember things, and so he doesn’t dwell too deeply on any of the issues or events that come up, but for all the simplicity of how events are told, there is still an emotional power to them.

For our youngest member, it was a straightforward story of Ivan and his quest to keep a promise. For the older members of our group, we could see beyond the simpler story to the bigger internal struggles that many of the characters fought with as Ivan describes their actions.

Another aspect that gave the book an additional level of interest is that Ivan was a real gorilla. He did in fact live at a roadside animal attraction, was originally captured with his twin sister, and spark the community to work for his release to a better home. Although I believe, the rest of the actual events of the story are fictional. The real Ivan eventually was moved to the Atlanta Zoo where he lived out the rest of his life. The zoo website has a nice page about his life: http://www.zooatlanta.org/ivan

Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel – Book Review

Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel – Book Review

Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel was a quick favorite with my then kindergarten kiddo. Unlike many other things she loved back then, she hasn't 'outgrown' the Bad Kitty books. She squealed with excitement just last week (now a 4^th grader) when she saw that the library had the newest book in the Bad Kitty series.

The first Bad Kitty book (above) is a picture/alphabet book with one letter for the alphabet for each food Bad Kitty can try when they run out of her regular food, then again for each naughty thing Bad Kitty does, and then another one for each nice thing she does to make up for it. So it takes you through the alphabet several times. However, unlike most alphabet books, the words are not simple. I found it as amusing as my kids do.

The other books featuring Bad Kitty, however, are short chapter books, heavy with illustrations. They were perfect for my daughter when she was a strong enough for longer stories and chapters, but still intimidated by big blocks of text. She would read each book over and over again, and I could hear her giggling every time.

Book review: Come Back, Cat by Joan L. Nodset

Book review: Come Back, Cat by Joan L. Nodset

ComeBack, Cat by Joan L. Nodset is darling books that both kids and cats will love. There are few words, but the story involves a little girl who wants to play with a cat she meets. However, her attempts to catch and cuddle the cat are met with fear and aggression from the object of her desire. Through the story she learns how to move slower, and speak more calmly in order to win the cat over, and allow it to trust her enough to come near.

Kids often let their excitement about animals override their other judgments about how the animal is responding to them. This is a very simple reminder for children to pay attention to the reactions they get from a cat to help avoid frightening it, or getting bit or scratched themselves. My kids have checked this out from the library more than once, and really love reading it over again. The message seems to be working its way into their brains too, but sometimes excitement still gets the better of them. 

Pumpkin Patch Review: Clayton Valley Pumpkin Farm

Clayton Valley Pumpkin Farm

We like the Clayton Valley Pumpkin Patch partly because it is not too far from us. Even so, it is a very nice pumpkin patch, with lots for kids to do.

The Clayton pumpkin patch seems to have expanded somewhat this year since our last visit a few years ago. They have two separate play areas for kids now instead of the one they had at our last visit. With a separate charge for each one, although they do offer a combination charge that saves you all of $1 if you do both. We decided against going down to the play areas this year due to the cost. It felt overpriced the last time we were there to me, although the kids loved it.

There is also a very small train ride for a smaller cost that makes a loop around the upper patch area. We did take a train ride this year, and it was what one would expect for that type of ride, although there were some cute decorations set up along the route to look at and even a tunnel to go through.

Even without spending much money, there was enough to keep our kids busy and happy for the hour or so we spent at the Clayton Pumpkin Patch. There was a small hay tunnel that they went in and out of over and over and over again with enthusiasm. I understand there is a much larger version of this in the pay-to-play area.

There are also a few farm animals to look at. Two pigs and two goats that we could see the day we visited. While the kids can't go in with the animals or touch them, they have a neat contraption for the kids to feed them with. It is sort of a stationary bike connected to a pulley. They can buy animal feed for a quarter, put the food into a can, and then peddle the can up where it will tip over the fence into a bowl before coming back down. My children were a little disappointed that the animals were not interested in the food pellets they peddled into their bowl, but not disappointed enough to keep them from asking to do it again.

Then there are the pumpkins. They are divided into piles by size. They even have piles of the more exotic green and white pumpkins some folks like. There are wheelbarrows in the pumpkin area to load up your pumpkins to take to the payment counter. The wheelbarrows are small and easy enough to handle that I never touched it, my 5 and 9 year old kids could maneuver them on their own. My husband learned that they don't actually grow the pumpkins there at the Clayton Farm; they are brought in from other places in California.

They also have a shop with other nice fall items, such as gourds, Indian corn, and Halloween decorations. The prices were not the lowest I've seen, but they are reasonable. The workers were all very helpful, and did their best to keep anyone from waiting for help.



We visited in mid-morning, and never had to wait in a line except for the train, and then not more than maybe 5 minutes. However, by the time we left, parking was very full, and I noticed that the train line was easily 5 times as long as when we had taken our ride. So aim for an earlier visit if you want to avoid the more crowded parts of the day.

Visit a Pet Store - Fun Stuff to Do Anywhere

Visit a pet store

I’m always surprised how much my kids love visiting a local pet store. For me, it’s an errand that needs to get checked off my to-do list. But for them, it’s almost like a free mini visit to the zoo. So now, every once in awhile when we are nearby, we’ll go to a pet shop just so they can look at the fish and the mice, and the adoptable kittens.

It helps to have some ground rules established ahead of time. For us, this is namely that we will NOT be getting a pet to bring home. Any requests to get a new pet means the pet store visit is over and we will leave. I’ve found this is a good place to enforce that kind of rule. Leaving the pet store is no big deal to me – we didn’t pay to get in or drive a long way to get there.

Also, if you can get a small group of kids together, many pet stores will set up a tour for you. We’ve been on one such tour at a PetCo, and it was more fun than I expected. The pet shop employees brought several animals out of their enclosures to let the kids hold and pet them, and we learned a little about what type of care they each needed.

Tilden Park in Berkley

Tilden Park in Berkley

Tilden Park in Berkley is a very big place. The first time we visited for a hike, we could have easily come and gone without ever knowing what other fun places there were for kids and families to visit there.

The hiking alone in Tilden Park is wonderful. It is a wooded area, and tends to be fairly cool compared to many other places around the bay. Our preschooler didn’t have any trouble with the trail we hiked, but since we have only hiked twice here, I am sure there are places with much more challenging trails. However, if you want to hike with little ones, you won’t have trouble finding a good place to do so in Tilden.

In addition to the lovely hiking trails, Tilden Park also has a small train that can take you for a short ride through the woods, and even smaller trains that can take kids for a ride around the miniature train yard. The train runs on weekends only and parking is fairly limited in the lot right by the train. The trains open at 11:00 am, and it is best to get there a little before they start if you want to park close by.

There is also an Environmental Education Center. Inside there is a room-sized model of the Bay Area, and a few other displays to look at. Naturalists also occasionally bring out some of their educational wildlife ambassadors and give short talks about them. We were fortunate enough to get to see a small snake and a tarantula on our visit.

Right next to the Education Center, is what they call the “Little Farm”. It’s basically what it sounds like, a small area with farm animals. There are cows, sheep, goats, chickens and ducks, and rabbits. It isn’t a petting zoo, but if the animals happen to come up to the fence, they can be touched.  When we last visited, guests were allowed to feed lettuce or celery that they had brought from home to the animals. My kids were a little sad that we had nothing to feed because we didn’t know ahead of time. I know from experience that the feeding rules can change at these places depending on the health needs of the animals, so if you bring something, please make sure to check the posted signs to make sure what you brought is safe to feed before you give anything to the animals.

While we have never visited it ourselves, there is also a merry-go-round, a botanic garden, and something called the Brazil building at Tilden. We hope to go explore these other area soon. Most of these attractions are not grouped together, but spread around the park, so we haven’t been able to see more than one or two areas at each visit. To see a map to plan your trip, and check hours of operation and costs, you can visit the Tilden Park page of the East County Parks website.

ARF in Walnut Creek

The Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) based in Walnut Creek is at its heart, an animal rescue and adoption center. However, they have many programs that expand beyond simple housing and rehoming of pets, and offer some fun things for kids and families, even ones who are not currently looking to adopt a new pet.

We have attended two events at the ARF facility, a tour, and a birthday party, and enjoyed both. They were very similarly run, with some obvious extras included for the party that I will go over in a bit.

At both events we were toured around the facility, seeing more of the ‘behind the scenes’ areas with the tour than the party. Although the tour was with an older set of kids, so that may have been part of the reason. Our groups started out in both cases, watching a short video about the history of ARF including  how and why former Oakland A’s manager Tony La Russa came to found the animal rescue foundation. We were shown the cats and dogs that were at the center waiting for adoption, and learned about the volunteers that help keep the center running.

At the end of the tour we went to a room that housed a play veterinary hospital and pet store. At the party, the children were all given little stuffed doggies or cats and taught how to take care of them in the play veterinary office. They learned to brush their teeth, give them vaccines, and check in their ears. At the play store, they shopped for things they might need to take care of their new pets at home. Then, in both the tour and the party, we got to meet a live dog and get a lesson on how to safely and politely greet and pet a new dog. This ended the tour, but the party went on to have snacks and cake, and gift opening before coming to an end.

I did not organize or set up either of these events, but was told by the person who set up the tour for us that it was a bit of a challenge to do so.  The parties are apparently the main way the center usually introduces children to the work of the foundation, and she was encouraged to take that path. Eventually she was able to set up a tour without a party, but this may or may not be something ARF is willing or able to do on a regular basis. For a party, on the other hand, there is information on the ARF website, and appears that would be something fairly straightforward to do. Everyone at the party we attended, kids and adults alike, appeared to have a terrific time.

I should also mention that you can of course, just show up and have a look around on your own without the benefit of an organized tour if you want. The animals are there to be seen, and hopefully find new homes after all. There are also some great volunteer opportunities for older kids too. So go check them out!

Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek

The Lindsay Wildlife Museum is a true treasure of the East Bay. Not only is it a fun place to see some local wildlife with your family, but they also provide a wonderful public service through their attached wildlife rehabilitation hospital.

We have visited the Lindsay Wildlife Museum many times over the years. Even though not much changes from one visit to the next, the kids and I always have a great time. It is a small museum. You won't need a full day to explore everything, a couple of hours should be plenty of time. There are various live species of native wildlife on display: raptors, reptiles, mammals, and more. They also have some stuffed specimens of the larger animals, like mountain lions, bears, and deer, that would be impractical to house in a smaller place like this. They also have some common small pets, like hamsters, that occasionally come out for petting in a corner of the museum dedicated to educating kids about choosing and caring for a pet.

Some of the wild animals also come out of their enclosures and can be touched. While one is not available at all times, I don't think we've ever visited Lindsay Wildlife Museum when we didn't get to pet a snake or other wild creature at some point while we were there.

In addition to the wildlife displays, there is also a 'Discovery Room' aimed at younger children with wildlife-themed puzzles and toys available to play with. I've found this space to be often disorginized, but my kids have never seemed to mind the occasional missing puzzle piece, and always have a fun time.

Make sure to check the Wildlife Museum's website before planning your trip. Their open hours vary depending on the day of the week. They frequently host school groups, and offer their own classes, and may not open until later in the afternoon on some days.

My daughter took a drawing class recently at the museum, and produced some great drawings. We would love to take more classes, but the cost can be a bit much for us to go on a regular basis. However, I have several friends who have children that attended many of the different classes offered. All of them have only positive, rave reviews about their teaches and their classes.

The wildlife hospital is attached to the same building as the wildlife museum, but has a separate entrance and you cannot get to the hospital from the inside of the museum. The entrance is on the opposite side of the building than the main museum entrance. If you have an injured animal, you would want to drive past the main parking area, to the next driveway, and there you will find the entrance to the wildlife hospital. To my knowledge, tours are not permitted inside the hospital to allow the injured and recovering wildlife as much peace as possible. Teens over 18 years old can volunteer to work in the hospital if they have a passion for helping animals.

If you follow the pathway that runs in from the the wildlife museum, you will come to a playground. This is a fabulous place to have lunch if you want to make a whole day of your visit. Or, if you want to have your kids run a little energy off before they need to be calm and quite around the animals inside.

The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito

We attended a group tour and class at the Marine Mammal Center recently. Now, my kids don’t need a lot of help getting excited about anything to do with animals, but every kids in our group was enthusiastic about seals and sea lions by the end of our visit. Our group ranged in age from infant to around 8 years old. Our tour guide provided a lot on hands-on activities for the group along the way. Along the tour, the kids got to use the rescue boards and poles, and a carrying cage to stage a mock rescue of a plush Harbor Seal toy, they got to try out the equipment used in tube feeding young marine mammals, and at the end, they at last got to view some animals being fed from a quite viewing platform.

The class involved watching short video clips, learning to identify the different types of marine mammals that live in the local area, pretended to examine, collect samples from, and feed another plush seal, and ouch some preserved skins and skulls. The very smallest of our group, the 3-year-olds, and smaller generally lost interest in the ‘class’ structure and were soon climbing on chairs or otherwise not paying attention, but all the other children were very focused and interested.

Our tour guide was also our class teacher, and did a great job of getting the kids involved, and never once spoke down to them. She did a nice job of making sure most kids who wanted to vouluneer for a demonstration got picked to be involved at least once.

I was impressed that for a place that relies so heavily on volunteer labor, it was an extremely clean, well run center. They can really do amazing, and sometimes very difficult work on what must be very limited funds. While our group was young, our teacher guide explained that kids can become Marine Mammal Center volunteers at 14 years of age if that’s something they’re interested in.

You don’t need to be part of a group to visit the Marine Mammal Center. They are open 10 to 5 everyday except for major holidays, and admission is free (but I’m sure a donation would be greatly appreciated). If you visit their website, you can see what species are likely to be there at various times of year, learn how to schedule a tour, and a lot of other great information about local marine mammals.

If you decided to visit the Marine Mammal Center, make sure to carefully read the driving directions. It’s located far along a narrow, windy road that made me a little nervous at times that I wasn’t going the right way. The only other recommendation I have, is that if you can, leave yourself a little extra time to visit the nearby beaches. Sausalito is truly beautiful place, and worth hanging out and relaxing in if you get the chance.

California Academy of Sciences

The California Academy of Sciences is such a wonderful place; it's really hard to say anything negative about it. However, on our first visit there since the museum re-opened, we all agreed that it wasn't what we'd been expecting.

We expected a lot of extinct animal bones and dioramas. There were a few of these around, but only a very few. Live animals have replaced most of the bones. I see now why they no longer call it the Museum of Natural History. The focus is much more on current events, and less on history. There is a large section devoted to global warming, for example. Although maybe calling it the California Academy of Biological Sciences, or Natural Sciences would be more accurate. Biology, Zoology, Evolution, and other such sciences are well represented, but not so much Physics or other sciences.

It was a little too much information for our kids, since they're so small, but they were also free to get in, so that's fair. In a few years, they could really get a lot out of a visit. As it was, they really loved the aquarium especially, and we had trouble dragging them away from a few tanks.

We spent a little bit of time in the "Explorer Cove" that is a special area just for kids under 6 years old. There are some puzzles, but there isn't much 'exploring' to be done there. It's really just a dedicated play area. The kids loved it in there, playing with stuffed animals, and climbing around, but I may have skipped it for other exhibits if I'd know there weren't any kid displays inside. Or at least saved it for when we needed a break. We made the mistake of heading there first.

We almost skipped a visit into the Rainforest because the line looked intimidating. I'm glad we decided to go anyway. It looked like a long wait, but the staff does a great job of keeping the line moving quickly. Traveling through the rainforest layers, while butterflies flutter past your head is well worth the trouble to get inside.

I was not quite prepared for the crowds. We visited on a Sunday, and the place was packed. Wall to wall. If you aren't a fan of crowds, you may want to try visit on a weekday, although I hear that it gets crowded then too, but I imagine it must be better, right?

One other mistake we made, was waiting until we'd browsed around awhile before asking about the planetarium show. By then all the tickets for the day were gone. So be warned: if you want to see the show, go early, and ask for tickets as soon as you're in the door. If anyone reading this has seen the show, let me know what you thought of it in the comment section, okay?

The Elephant in the Blog

Why there won't ever be a review of Vallejo's Discovery Kingdom here.

Despite the fact that I live in Vallejo, and am a well-known animal fan, I won't be reviewing Discovery Kingdom in this blog. Since it seems a natural fit here, I thought I'd just post a quick explanation (although maybe no one cares or would have noticed the omission.)

I worked at Discovery Kingdom, then known as Marine World Africa USA, many years ago. I was there when Six Flags took the park over. I survived the transition, but everything I loved about Marine World didn't.

We used to be a non-profit, and had endangered animal breeding programs, dolphin communication research, and a lot of other wonderful programs. But we were going bankrupt. Six Flag came in with money to keep the park going, but took away a lot of what, in my opinion, made Marine World special. I guess it just bothers me that it wasn't good enough as a wildlife park, it had to be turned into an amusement park, with all the rides and flash that go with it in order to survive.

A lot of other behind the scenes changes happened that I won't bore you with, but it was enough that I decided to move on. I've been back to Discovery Kingdom recently; my family talked me into taking our kids there, but I just can't write an objective review. I can't see it only for what it is today because my view will always be colored by what it used to be. What it used to be to me.

The Oakland Zoo

Don't miss the best stuff on your visit to the Oakland Zoo!

The Oakland Zoo is located on Golf Links Road just off of 580 in Oakland, California. The zoo is open every day from 10:00 to 4:00, and only closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. There's a children's ride area right out front as well. The ride area opens at 11:00. Children under 2 years old get into the zoo for free, and children 2 to 14, as well as seniors over 55 receive a discounted price. Current admission prices are listed on the zoo's website at http://www.oaklandzoo.org/. There is also a small parking fee.

The Oakland Zoo is probably our family's favorite Bay Area zoo. We've been members for several years. It is easy to get to, with plenty of parking. It's large enough to fill up a whole day, but not so huge that we need to rush to see everything we want. Most of the animal exhibits are well designed, updated, and maintained. The animals generally appear active and content whenever we visit.

Read the full review here.