National Zookeepers Week

National Zoo Keeper Week is observed annually during the third full week of July. This week is dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the dedication and hard work of zookeepers. Here's a list of books both fiction and nonfiction about zookeepers.

Updated June 29, 2025
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Fond du Lac Public Library
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The zookeeper's wife
Ackerman, Diane.
Paper Book
The New York Times bestseller soon to be a major motion picture starring Jessica Chastain. A true story in which the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo saved hundreds of people from Nazi hands. When Germany invaded Poland, Stuka bombers devastated Warsaw--and the city...
Father of lions : one man's remarkable quest to save the Mosul Zoo
Callaghan, Louise
Paper Book
Father of Lions is the powerful true story of the evacuation of the Mosul Zoo, featuring Abu Laith the zookeeper, Simba the lion cub, Lula the bear, and countless others, faithfully depicted by acclaimed, award-winning journalist Louise Callaghan in her trade publishing debut. ...
Zoo story : life in the garden of captives
French, Thomas
Paper Book
Welcome to the savage and surprising world of Zoo Story, an unprecedented account of the secret life of a zoo and its inhabitants, both animal and human. Based on six years of research, the book follows a handful of unforgettable characters at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo: an alpha chimp with...
West with giraffes
Rutledge, Lynda
Paper Book
An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America. "Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes..." Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But...
Betty & friends : my life at the zoo
White, Betty
Paper Book
America's sweetheart, impassioned lifelong animal welfare advocate, and bestselling author White offers intimate and funny stories about her animal friends at the zoo, enhanced by gorgeous four-color photographs. "Betty & Friends" is the passion project she has been working on for more than a decade...
The loneliest polar bear : a true story of survival and peril on the edge of a warming world
Williams, Kale
Paper Book
"A moving story of abandonment, love, and survival against the odds."--Dr. Jane Goodall   The heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful story of an abandoned polar bear cub named Nora and the humans working tirelessly to save her and her species, whose uncertain future in the...

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