The Basics
Title: Jessica’s Zoo Adventure
Series: Sweet Valley Kids #8
Published: June 1990
The Plot
Mrs. Becker’s second grade class is off to the zoo for an excursion, and Jessica and Elizabeth are particularly excited because Alice Wakefield is class mother for the trip. They agree that they want to see the monkeys most of all.
On the big day, Jessica thinks that having Alice with them will mean that she and Elizabeth will get special treatment. When Alice tells her off for pushing in line and trying to get better seats on the bus, Jessica feels hurt. (To be fair, I think Alice could have explained nicely that things aren’t different because she’s there, instead of telling Jess off in front of her friends.)
When they get to the zoo, the class finds out that the monkey house is closed, as a chimpanzee has escaped. Best not to think too much about the peculiar logic of shutting off the one part of the zoo the keepers know doesn’t contain the missing animal. Jessica is disappointed and, after Alice is dismissive another couple of times, Jess decides that she’s going to visit the monkey house anyway—and that Elizabeth has to join her, because they’re excursion buddies. Todd and Winston decide to tag along too.
The monkey house is all locked up and boring, but then the four get the great idea to look for the chimpanzee themselves. They try in lots of places, but with no luck, and the more responsible children (aka not Jessica) decide that they really should get back to their class. Jessica realises that she’s lost her bracelet, though, so they retrace their steps in an attempt to find it. Jessica looks inside a pipe in a construction zone and spots, not her bracelet, but the missing chimpanzee! She and Winston try to lure it out with a banana, while Liz and Todd go for help.
The chimpanzee is returned to the monkey house, the children are reunited with the rest of the class, and the chip is named “Jessica” in honour of the person who found her. Alice is cross again, but this time Jess doesn’t mind.
The Verdict
I think I would’ve enjoyed this one a lot at the target age for the books. As an adult, I wished that more of the story had been devoted to the time at the zoo, with a little less of the preamble about Alice being class mother.
Major Characters
Minor Characters
Bit Parts
- Charlie Cashman
- Mr. Ericson
- Lila Fowler
- Andy Franklin
- Jerry McAllister
- Ken Matthews
- Caroline Pearce
- Ellen Riteman
- Eva Simpson
- Amy Sutton
- Ned Wakefield
- Steven Wakefield
- Lois Waller
- Miss Weatherby
The Places
The Zoo: Has a monkey house (with chimpanzees and squirrel monkeys), a feeding zoo (with baby goats, piglets, fawns and lambs), snakes, bears, tigers and elephants.
The Themes
- Animals, getting your own way, lost and found
Sweet Valley Spy 