ON this day in 2020, keepers at Welsh Mountain Zoo in Colwyn Bay published a children’s book titled ‘A Dream Day at the Zoo’ to raise funds for their beloved attraction.
Zoo keepers Amy Ridgway and Tom Wootton initiated the project amid escalating financial pressures faced by the zoo during the pandemic, with 90 per cent of the profits from the sales directed to the zoo and the remaining 10 per cent benefiting The Vulture Conservation Foundation.
The story centres on a young girl named Alice, an enthusiastic animal lover. During what seems to be a typical visit to the zoo, Alice begins to daydream and embarks on an adventure to help keepers track down an escaped animal by following clues to identify the species.
At the time, Tom said: "During the first lockdown the zoo was really struggling. We didn’t know how long it was going to last or even how long we would be able to keep going. We were incredibly grateful for the community coming together and helping the zoo through donations, adoptions and many other means."
Tom said: "Amy remembered a book from when she was a little girl which her grandparents had bought her.
"The book revolved around Amy in a zoo setting and she loved it.
"We wanted to give something back and so the idea to write this story was born."
This nostalgia inspired them to create a similar story that would give back to the community and the zoo. The book includes engaging child-friendly facts, allowing young readers to learn something new about the animals housed within the zoo.
Tom added: “We wrote the book and drafted basic illustrations, almost like a story-board to pitch the book to our directors.
"These illustrations were then sent over to Catherine Jackman and she elevated them beautifully.
"The response so far has been amazing – the first batch has sold out and we're already on our second reprint.”
The book was on sale in the zoo shop for £6 or £10, which included a cute chimp soft toy.
This article was first published in the Rhyl Journal on December 9, 2020.
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