Glen Oak Zoo - A Zoo For You
Old MacDonald had a farm,
 E I E I O.
And on this farm were farm animals,
 E I E I O.
But none were so fine as those that are mine
 in the fabulous Glen Oak Zoo.
So come with me and let us see
 the Barnyard in Glen Oak Zoo.
In my quest to own all books Peoria, I grabbed this one off of eBay for about 10 bucks after shipping, not quite knowing what I was buying, other than a supposed children’s book that referenced Glen Oak Zoo- maybe something my kids would like to read. Boy, was I in for a rude awakening!
64 page paperback, written by Shirley Stever Rice, and published by the Henry News-Republican in 1964.
I guess that it is a testament to zoo’s of the time period, especially smaller ones such as Glen Oak. Animals in confinement cells… exotic animals in rooms smaller than my college dorm… monkeys behind the steel bars… although it is thankfully undergoing massive changes, Glen Oak Zoo, as we know it today, hasn’t changed much since this book was written.
But- it’s the way this book is written that just floored me. Each page or two is devoted to an animal at the zoo through black and white line drawings and so-so poetry written in the first person/animal so as we can pretent understand, relate, and be their friend. At the time, it may have been a nice book, but in this day and age, it’s downright depressing and quite disturbing. My wife said I can absolutely not let our children read it (and I agree, other than as a history lesson).
So as to not allow this single post to be too long, I have put up some of the better excerpts in posts below that I think you’ll enjoy.
(I seriously think Bonnie Noble and the Zoological Society should use this book as fundraising material!)
As you wander through the zoo,
 The animals in the cages
May vary from time to time
 From the animals on these pages.
But do not fear, my dears,
 For if you cannot find us,
We may be in a new home;
 But our love for you shall bind us
To the fabulous Glen Oak Zoo.
 It is the Zoo For You.
And don’t forget to come back, too,
 To meet the animals who are new.
July 11th, 2006 at 9:02 pm
I got a copy of this book, also on eBay, I think for $3.00 about a year ago. I stopped reading after a few pages and just looked at the pictures.
I remember a lot of what the book covers. I went to the zoo hundreds of times from the 50’s to the late 70’s, and it always seemed to get more depressing on every trip. I especially felt sorry for the big cats, in those horrid tiny cages with cement floors, constantly having to listen to zillions of rotten kids screaming and crying all day. There was also a very large male orangutang (sp) that would swing from the back of his cage to the front, stop, and pee on people watching him. He seemed the most depressed.
How that place ever got accredited, I’ll never know. Personally, I think it should have merged with the Wildlife Prairie Park and become something like the Wild Animal Park, which is part of the San Diego Zoo.
Unless the Glen Oak Zoo scores a panda someday, I just don’t see the purpose of the expansion.