Where Are The Jaguars?
Written by Maureen Cadigan, Catherine Lunde, and Gail Rabin from the Beebe School in Malden, MA
Illustrated by Darcy Schwartz and Gail Rabin
To Kim Kezer for all your help and support and to the children at the Beebe School.
Special thanks to the Massachusetts Department of Education whose funding supported teachers and parents in the development of this story. © CAST, 2005
On a bright spring morning, Collette and Jimmy went to the zoo.
“Collette, what animals do you want to see today at the zoo?” asked Jimmy.
“Cool!” said Jimmy. “Let’s go.”
When Jimmy and Collette arrived at the Stone Zoo, they saw the mountain goats climbing up the hill. “Great,” said the children. "But…
“...where are the jaguars?”
Next, they saw five little brown monkeys swinging from tree to tree. “Look at them play,” said Collette. "But…
“...where are the jaguars?”
Then, Collette and Jimmy found a swift roadrunner chasing a small gray mouse. “Look how fast he runs,” said Jimmy. "But…
“...where are the jaguars?”
After that, they saw the long legged, pink flamingos standing in the water. “That must be fun,” said the children. "But…
“...where are the jaguars?”
Soon they came upon the reptile house where they saw huge snakes slithering and wiggling among the leaves. “I see a python,” said Collette. "But…
“...where are the jaguars?”
Jimmy spotted a giant eagle’s nest. “Look!” said Collette, ”Here comes the bald eagle.” “Bald eagles are interesting,” said Jimmy. "But…
“...where are the jaguars?”
Slowly the children approached the lion’s den. The lion was sleeping peacefully next to its cubs. “We love seeing the lions,” said the children. "But…
“...where are the jaguars?”
Suddenly, the children spied the zookeeper walking towards them. “Miss Zookeeper, please tell us. Where are the jaguars?”
“We have seen the mountain goats climbing, monkeys swinging, the roadrunner chasing, flamingos wading, snakes slithering, and the bald eagle soaring. We even saw lions sleeping. But…where are the jaguars?” they asked the zookeeper.
The zookeeper chuckled and said, “All you need to do is turn around. The jaguars are right over there eating their lunch!”
Finally, Jimmy and Collette saw the jaguars.
“Look!” the children cried. “There are the jaguars!”
The End!