Lying wide-eyed in my tent on the Amakhala Reserve in South Africa in the pre-dawn hours, I was surrounded by incredible sounds of nature. Tears filled my eyes with the notion that I was just one of the many creatures waking up that morning. Not far away were elephants tending to their little ones, giraffes stretching their legs and wildebeests tossing their heads. Many others, too numerous to mention, were going about their morning routine, just as I was about to do.

“Who am I?” I thought.  A being, just like they are. And they are beautiful. Then it occurred to me. Maybe these are the animals I played with as a little girl!  They had been paper back then, but what if by some incredible faith and determination, they had become real! Now they were happy and free. Tears filled my eyes, and Paper Zoo was conceived.

As I recently sang these very words at the New Haven Public Library, a little boy named Carlos who was seated in the back row, began to cry. I asked him what was wrong and he replied, “Those animals should be free!”  I smiled and hugged him. Someone got my message.