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.
Themes
Learning Judgment With Courage
A frequent character trait used didactically in middle grade novel protagonists is courage. This lesson is an encouragement to engage with the world and new experiences, overcoming obstacles and challenges. The Secret Zoo re-examines this trend, particularly through its protagonist, Noah. Rather than seeing Noah succeed at every turn when he displays bravery, the narrative explores how courage needs to be applied with judgment and conveys that is not an ideal principle in all circumstances. While many of Noah’s actions are brave, they show poor judgment, pride, and bravado, placing himself—and ultimately others—in unnecessary danger.
This theme is introduced early in the novel. Although Noah admits to himself that “[he] can not do this alone” (29), he leaves for the zoo without taking his friends or telling them of his plans. He does not have enough information to make the right decision and unknowingly puts the Secret Zoo at risk. Noah’s actions demonstrate a prideful level of self-reliance; he seriously misjudges his own abilities and the help he needs from others. On the surface, his act is brave and plays into the archetype of the hero quest: Noah departs for the zoo to save Megan from the forces who have kidnapped her. However, he doesn’t know about the external force threatening the zoo—the Shadow Master, a man Tank describes as a man who “could be anywhere” (59). Noah can’t know the specific danger he will face, but he is foolish not to acknowledge that he will face dangers and not to consider that others have skills and perspectives that he lacks. He risks the Secret Zoo’s safety by rushing on without knowing all the facts, something the novel makes explicit when both Charlie Red and Mr. Darby later point this out.
Noah makes the same mistake again when he is given an opportunity to learn from his previous experience (and the words of Mr. Darby). He insists on staying in the Dark Lands to find Megan. Podgy shows more judgment, as well as selfless loyalty, when he secretly stays with Noah, a decision that is vindicated when Noah needs Podgy’s help. Similarly, it is only when the friends rescue them that Noah and Megan are able to safely escape the dark lands. Noah’s continued assistance that he undertake “his” quest alone is shown to be unwise and unnecessary. When Noah sees Megan’s Adventure Scouts distress flag waving outside a cave, he rushes in without properly investigating his surroundings. This recklessness causes him to fall into a trap. When a sasquatch blocks their way out of the cave, Megan tells him, “I had my flag and I used it, but that awful thing saw me. It took my flag and lured you in here” (229). While it is undoubtedly brave of Noah to work to rescue Megan, he makes questionable choices, such as running into a cave without first investigating it, which places himself and his friends in danger. Where many middle grade novels emphasize acts of bravery, the author emphasizes the ways that courage requires judgment to encourage his readers to consider actions before acting.
The Powerful Bonds of Friendship
Though separated for half of the novel’s plot, the friendship bond between Noah, Ella, and Richie is central to the narrative and informs the development of each character as they explore the Clarksville City Zoo and enter the Secret Zoo. Their commitment to each other lets them overcome complex challenges and find strength in dark times. Without the continued and often unrecognized help of his friends, Noah would not be able to escape the dangers he places himself in when trying to live up to his heroic ideal. The connection of the individual characters takes center stage as they are complementary and consistently shown to be more effective together than apart; they are determined to help each other and contribute their unique strengths to the collective good.
A rift in the friendship group is the catalyst for the novel, as Megan has gone missing; returning the group to completeness is the aim of the narrative. Her disappearance gives the characters a goal to work toward. When Mr. Tall Tail gives Noah the first of three pages from Megan’s diary, he shares the information with his friends by opening the conversation by telling them it’s about Megan: “Ella and Richie turned serious. There was no joking between them when the subject was Megan” (32). The three share a language and an understanding that whatever jokes they are telling, Megan is a topic about which they need to be serious. As he gathers more information, Noah tries to go off alone and leave his friends behind. Ella sees him depart and goes to fetch Richie, telling him they’re going to do “[the] only thing [they] can do […] Go in after him” (72). Ella doesn’t hesitate when Noah needs them—though he does not ask for their help, Richie and Ella do not hesitate to chase Noah and help him because they choose to remain by their friend’s side and help him find his sister.
The characters’ desire to help each other continues through their journey and demonstrates itself most prominently in the Dark Lands. After Noah and Podgy rescue Megan, the sasquatches surround them; they need a miracle to escape: “That miracle was charging toward them from behind the sasquatches. Storming through the muddy forest were Ella, Richie, Tank, Blizzard, Little Big Horn, Dodie, Marlo, P-Dog, and a bunch of other prairie dogs” (233). Though Noah told them to leave him and save themselves, his companions know that he will need them and come to his rescue in a “miraculous” show of the power of friendship. Not only do the friends share the common goal of saving Megan, but they also defend and assist each other through good times and bad by helping each other, even when that help has been rejected.
The Need to Conserve Nature
The need to conserve nature is a central theme in the middle grade lesson and theme of the novel, expressed through the collaboration between humans and animals, the showcasing of animal skill, and the exploration of mechanisms and approaches to conservation by humans.
The Secret Society sits at the heart of the Secret Zoo, “a band of humans and animals that has existed since the dawn of the first day. It is devoted to protecting animals, especially those threatened by humankind” (179). Its goal is to rescue endangered species and give them a place to live, safe from humanity. Though Bhanu provided Mr. Jackson with a magical space to complete this task, the mission became more extensive than the Secret Society could manage. They require “Crossers,” or people who function in the real world to help further the Society’s interests.
When Mr. Jackson set out to seek Bhanu and his brothers, he wanted his construction crew to devise an idea for expanding his backyard zoo “that wasn’t based on extending the walls of the cages” (172). Mr. Jackson dreamed of a space where animals could live in their natural habitats and be free rather than trapped in cages like zoos. The brothers gave him this with their ability to “expand space. They could take a hole and make it a thousand times its size” (181). Through the combined efforts of machinery, representing physical action and real possibilities, combined with the brothers’ magic, representative of imagination and potential, they created the Secret Zoo, where the Secret Society—already working around the world to protect endangered animals—could unify their efforts and unite under their common goal. The novel uses Bhanu and Mr. Jackson to encourage alternate thinking, where people do not look for the most straightforward solutions but seek the best solutions that may not exist yet. Instead of accepting what is, the author questions what can be and encourages others to think the same—to dream big and create new possibilities that enhance the world around them.
The novel enlists the support of the wider community, as the Secret Zoo cannot function without helpers—the Crossers. When Megan, Noah, Ella, and Richie leave the Secret Zoo to return home, they want to do more to help the Secret Zoo. Mr. Darby tells them, “[Y]ou can. We need Crossers—people that pass between the Outside and the Inside. We need good people. Adventurous people” (237). Suppose the Secret Zoo symbolizes preservation efforts and the spaces created to further those efforts. In that case, the Crossers represent the good-hearted people who enter the world beyond these spaces to find, protect, and bring endangered animals to the safe spaces created for them. The author ends the Adventure Scouts’ encounter with the Secret Zoo by reminding them that these efforts need good-hearted people willing to help. The theme closes by presenting the case that anyone can help, as long as they mean well in doing so. When the Scouts believe they can’t do what Mr. Darby asks of them because they’re kids, he tells them, “Only kids! Look at all you’ve done! The Adventure Scouts are much more than kids, I assure you” (237). To broaden the scope of Mr. Darby’s statement, the author takes on Darby’s role and tells readers that they can do and help more than they believe they can—what matters is the heart to do so, not the evident “skills” one brings. Conservation becomes a global effort only when everyone participates.
