Christopher lists six things about yellow that he hates: custard, bananas (which also turn brown), double yellow lines, Yellow Fever (deadly disease), yellow flowers (hay fever), and sweet corn (hard to digest). He lists five things about brown that he hates: dirt, gravy, poo, wood (metal and plastic are better), and Melissa Brown (who tore up his large painting of an astronaut).

Christopher knows that hating yellow and brown is sort of silly, but it helps him make decisions, especially when there are too many choices, like on a menu.

The next day, Christopher’s father tells him he’s sorry for hitting him, and he helps him dress the cut on his cheek. To help make up for the fight, his father wants to take Christopher to the zoo. The zoo won’t be too crowded because it’s a rainy day, which pleases Christopher.

At the zoo, they look at everything. Christopher especially likes one of the monkeys, the Patagonian sea lions, and an orangutan named Maliku that lies on a hammock that it made out of pajama bottoms.

At lunch, Christopher’s father repeats his sorrow about the fight and tells his son that he loves him very much, but that sometimes he loses his temper: “I worry about you, because I don’t want to see you getting into trouble, because I don’t want you to get hurt” (87).