Once upon a time there was a little girl who conquered her fears and won over an audience with the power poetry. She went on to write lots of it but took a detour into the beauty business before finally fulfilling her passion for rhyme with the sweet children’s book, It’s a Zoo Thing.

That little girl is Katie Mackenzie, whose now 28, and whose love of the written word was imparted to her by a still-treasured childhood book, the Brothers Grimm fairytale, The Elves and the Shoemaker.

Beautifully illustrated with a vintage touch by Ayesha Henderson, storyteller Ted takes his friends Alice and the mischievous Joe on an adventure to the zoo. They encounter fun characters along the way – including garage owner McJeeper and the tall zoo keeper – but the real story begins behind the bright yellow door...

With Mackenzie’s Dr Seuss-style rhyming style the book is a great learning tool for preshcoolers and the debut author is already keeping notes for Ted, Alice and Joe’s next escapades.

“Books stay around forever – the good ones are passed down through the years and I can only hope my book will be one of those,” Mackenzie says.

Pick up It’s a Zoo Thing at bookstores shop online at BerminghamBooks.com for a signed copy.