An unobservant zookeeper is followed home by all the animals he thinks he has left behind in the zoo.

"Amos McGee, a friendly zookeeper, always made time to visit his good friends: the elephant, the tortoise, the penguin, the rhinoceros, and the owl. But one day--'Ah-choo!'--he woke with the sniffles and the sneezes. Though he didn't make it into the zoo that day, he did receive some unexpected guests."--Dust jacket.

A librarian named Mavis McGrew introduces the animals in the zoo to the joy of reading when she drives her bookmobile to the zoo by mistake.

Xander's plan to host a panda party falls through, since he is the only panda at the zoo, but when he extends the invitation to all of the bears, complications ensue. Includes author's note on the wonders of the animal kingdom and the international effort to save pandas from extinction.

When Samson the lion's son escapes from the zoo and into the wild, Samson must save him and live up to his fierce reputation.