44 pages • 1 hour read
Bryan ChickThe Secret Zoo
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2007A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Genre Context: Middle Grade Fantasy Novels
The term “middle grade” is often used as a genre term; however, the term refers to the age range for which an author targets their novel’s content. The target readers in this market are anywhere between seven and 12, depending on the novel’s goals and themes. The character’s ages also usually fall within that range, and their conflicts are often external conflicts that remain relevant to the target audience. While dynamic and round characterizations can apply to middle grade characters, they tend to do little introspection and do not critically analyze their surroundings or the more profound thoughts behind their actions—their growth comes from outside factors. Middle grade stories tend to be didactic in nature, usually expressing a life lesson such as moral or character-based development, situational or circumstantial life knowledge, or problem-solving skills.
Middle grade fantasy takes the themes and goals of middle grade life and places the story in a fantastical setting. In middle grade fantasy novels, the protagonists adventure into an unknown magical world to resolve an external conflict. Along the way, they fulfill many elements of Joseph Campbell’s “hero’s journey,” reflecting and exemplifying elements of personal character growth that the author hopes to pass along to the reader.
Middle grade fantasy often incorporates elements of magic, including magical creatures and transportation into another world. The animals may be mythical, such as phoenixes or dragons, or may be real animals with mystical qualities, such as speech. The Secret Zoo follows this pattern: While it remains in the real world, it defamiliarizes the known for the reader by inserting elements of the unknown—spaces that fit more birds than they should, speaking animals that guide the protagonists through the mysteries of the zoo, and a magical antagonist known only as the Shadow Master. Along the way, Noah, Ella, and Richie discover the importance of friendship and natural conservation while they uncover the secrets of the zoo.
Genre Context: Mystery Novels and the Cozy Mystery
Mystery novels have a long and complex history. While literature containing mystery elements dates back to Ancient Greece, many credit Edgar Allan Poe with the creation of the modern mystery genre in the early 19th century. The structure of the mystery novel tends to follow an established pattern. This includes the presence of a crime or mystery problem, an investigation, a twist that causes an obstacle to investigation, a breakthrough that overcomes the obstacle, and the conclusion or denouement when the details and solution are revealed. To keep the narrative moving while concealing elements of the mystery from the reader, mystery authors use plot devices such as red herrings, suspense, and misdirection.
“Cozy mysteries” are a recent subgenre of mystery crime novels that contain no procedural details and that minimize graphic adult content. Instead, cozy mysteries depend on amateur detectives who use their natural wits and intelligence to solve a case. Violent crimes can still be referenced, but the cozy mystery focuses on the mystery elements rather than graphic or gratuitous details of the crime. The early-20th-century mystery author Agatha Christie, the “Queen of Crime,” is now sometimes referred to as a “cozy mystery” author because her books avoid the dark and graphic detail of many more modern mystery titles. The cozy mystery is a suitable genre for children because it takes narrative elements of mystery fiction without assuming the dark adult themes it often involves.
The Secret Zoo is a cozy fantasy mystery novel, combining traditional elements of the fantasy genre with cozy mystery fiction. Noah, Ella, and Richie become amateur sleuths while investigating Megan’s kidnapping. They continue to search for clues when professional detectives give up. Their adventures focus on how they explore the zoo to solve Megan’s kidnapping. There are no on-page depictions of violence, keeping the content appropriate for the middle grade audience; instead, Bryan Chick uses other mystery novel elements to build suspense for the reader until the denouement.
