About the Author

Thyra Heder is the author of Fraidyzoo, an ALA-ALSC Notable Book, The Bear Report, and Alfie. She is also an illustrator and storyboard artist for film and advertising and lives in Brooklyn.

Reviews

**STARRED REVIEW**
"WARNING: Expect riotous buffoonery after reading this clever and original alphabet story, as kids will definitely want to 'parrot' the examples."
*Kirkus Reviews, starred review*

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Heder comes up with a wildly imaginative idea for an alphabet book/animal guessing game, elaborates it with smartly drafted ink-and-watercolor spreads, and seasons it with plenty of family warmth and hullaballoo."
*Publishers Weekly, starred review*

The cut-and-paste, handmade look and feel of this picture book underscores its thematic ode to creative problem solving... The charming, detailed watercolor and ink illustrations really tell the story, and children will relish poring over them to guess the animal costumes and identify their construction materials.
*School Library Journal*

Heder tells a child-relevant story about facing your fears with a light hand and zippy prose, but it’s her art that dials the zippiness up to 11, as her warm and humorously realistic figures gallivant alongside some remarkably envisioned handcrafted animal puppets.
*Booklist*

This book does the impossible, taking one of the oldest children’s book conventions, the zoo alphabet, and completely reinventing it. It’s a story about a family helping one of their own overcome fear by being utterly silly and completely loving. The whole thing is done with such a confident and lively style, it’s hard to believe that this is Heder’s first picture book. Fraidyzoo is funny, original, and announces Heder as a force to be reckoned with.
*The Atlantic Wire*

Illustrations capture the empathy of a very concerned, loving, and creative family.
*Library Media Connection*