2025 Stuffed Animal Sleepover: Adventures at the Zoo!

The beloved stuffies of Brookline had a wild time at the Stuffed Animal Sleepover as part of the Library’s Summer Reading program! After you dropped us off, we got ready for bed with a story to prepare for our adventure the next day, read aloud to us by Gustave.

After we woke up in the morning, we got ready for our big adventure at the Franklin Park Zoo! The wonderful Zoo team took us and the librarians on a wonderful journey through various parts of the zoo. We made new friends, furry and scaly alike!

We started out with the prairie dogs – Mickey and Minnie were mesmerized by the little critters, and even got to take a look around their habitat! Panda, Spikey, and Mortimer got in on the viewing, too. Gustave, J, Fluffy, and Phoenix loved the prairie dogs so much, they wanted to try becoming them!

Next up, we visited the farm animals! Goat felt right at home, while Scramble, Baby Yoda, and Koala were a bit less sure.

Several of us found new friends who looked like us around the zoo! Peaches and Chad the giraffe compared patches and Red slithered with the anaconda, while Michael monkeyed around with the De Brazza’s monkeys and gorillas! 

 

J took a nice break with the sloth, and Charlie learned more about his species in the Kiwi exhibit. Zookeeper Katie hung out with Lion, and introduced him to Dinari, the lion at the Zoo (under the furthest tree)!

We found friends who were different species than us too! Meerie blended right in with the lemurs and George found a fellow long-nosed friend in the anteater. Peach Bob and Dino took a look at the hyena enclosure, where the hyenas were resting in the shade in their hideout. Baby Yoda and Vanilla even got a glimpse of the saddle-billed stork!

 

Stuffy made friends with the giraffe stuffies in the gift shop, while Bark and Wan watched the African painted dogs napping in the shade under their rock shelter. Ducky and Elmo had a great time meeting the emu, although Elmo got confused since their names sounded so similar! 

George, Ballerina, and Vanilla even got to have an extra-special hangout with Benny the Blue-Tongued Skink! 

The Tropical Forest was a favorite spot for many stuffies, and Elmo, Meerie, and Hoppy helped show the way there! Scramble, Ducky and Phoenix were all very fond of the tapir, while Koala, Bark, Wan, and Fluffy all enjoyed watching the pygmy hippo.

 

The lanterns all around for the Zoo’s Boston Lights displays were beautiful, and we found lots of new friends there! Red found a giant snake, Spikey found another friendly dragon, and Tiger and Tiger Woods found a tiger that looked just like them!

The lantern displays made for plenty of fun photo opportunities, like Kipod’s giant wings, Care Bear, Rainbowbelly, and Cosey’s rainbow tunnel, Gustave, Fluffy, Candy, and Harts’ leopard photobooth, and Chelle and Stuffy’s underwater experience!

 

Walking around the zoo in the sunshine can be tiresome, but our stuffies found lots of good places to sit and rest for a minute! Tiger and Tiger Woods found a bench in a familiar grassy habitat, and Care Bear and Rainbowbelly sat down in a shady corner with a view of the lion habitat. Hoppy, Aikat Floyd, and Charlie took a break on a beautifully decorated wall. Spikey, Owen, Panda, and Goat found a cool spot in the aquarium section, and Aikat Floyd hopped off the wall to join them there. Harts even found a refreshing hang out on a bridge next to a waterfall!

Some of us weren’t tired at all! While the rest of our friends took a break, Peach Bob and Dino tested out the Zoo golf carts, Peaches, Candy, and Owen visited the photobooth, and Lion learned all about the new penguin habitats that are being built.

 

Ballerina and Mickey Mouse checked out some more exhibits, and Hoppy joined them after a short rest. Aikat Floyd ate a treat, and Kipod took in the views one last time before we packed everything up!

  

After our busy and fun day, it was time to go back to the Library, but not before picking up some souvenirs for you! We gave the Zoo staff a big thank you, and hopped in the car to head towards home. We had a great time at our sleepover, but we were all very excited to see you at the Library for pick up. We can’t wait to do it again next year somewhere new!