Rating:  Summary: Not only cute, but really quite good Review: The creators of children's picture books that seek to enchant the viewer always run the risk of sometimes becoming TOO sweet. A book that's dripping with sweetie-pie sentiments is always in danger of disgusting the discerning (and purchasing) parent. "Good Night, Gorilla", on the other hand, balances deftly between sweet and smart, becoming both at once. In a simple story, a night watchman at a zoo bids goodnight to each of his animals as a sneaky gorilla unlocks them one by one. The unwitting watchman goes home (animals in tow) and it's up to his wife to put them all to bed again. If I was a better writer I'd be able to tell you just how cute this book is. It's SO cute! But not stupid in the least. Rathmann has filled this story with clever little subplots that kids will enjoy following. A small mouse with a banana lugs the heavy object from picture to picture. Rathmann even goes so far as to wrap a picture on the back of the book's cover around and into the inner fold where the tiny mouse stands by, patiently. The book also emotes deadpan beautifully. In one scene the watchman's wife says goodnight to her husband and the page goes black. Next we hear each animal in the room (that crept in unbeknownst to her) saying goodnight back. The two page spread that follows is just a single pair of wide open eyes in the black dark room. The deadpan wit will not be lost on either kids or their adult parents. If you'd like a book that you can read fifty times over without getting nauseated or bored, find yerself a copy of "Good Night, Gorilla", and count yourself lucky for having discovered it.
Rating:  Summary: You'll Treasure this Book! Review: This book was read at a mixed-age party and I'm sure that the adults laughed as much as the children! It has quickly become a classic, featuring the cleverly pictured sneaky antics of a renegade gorilla.Our young hero steals the keys from a zookeeper and frees all the animals, who follow the keeper home at night. Hilarious "lights out" confusion ensues with a comical surprise ending! 34 pages, with only ten different words, the expressive, colorful pictures say it all. This playful book is appropriate for infants, toddlers, and the beginning reader as well. A delightful romp, and a surefire hit! One of those few treasured books that you'll keep for years to come.
Rating:  Summary: Fun again and again! Review: I love this book and so does my toddler! We read it over and over. I love that we can think of different stories for every page and the illustrations and wonderful!!!
Rating:  Summary: Perfect for toddlers!! Review: My son loves this book! I think it must be because the illustrations are easy on his eyes. The drawings are very childlike and the colors(mostly primary)are perfect. This is the story of a zookeeper who is closing the zoo for the night, and while he says "goodnight" to each critter, the gorilla, who is first, steals his keys and lets all the animals out. They all follow him home, and he never even notices! His pop eyed wife has to take care of them herself. It's the most adorable little book! There isn't much to read. It's more of a feast for the child's eyes right before he sets off to night nights. The copy I have is a small board book, and it's small enough for my son's little hands to hold and admire all by himself. I highly recommend buying this for the child at age 21 month and over.
Rating:  Summary: Very cute and a way to learn animal names Review: The story's in the pictures: a mischievious gorilla borrows the zoo keeper's keys and as the zookeeper is completing his rounds, the gorilla lets the animals out. The gorilla, with all of the animals following him, ends up in the zookeeper's bedroom. The pictures are terrific, with a lot going on in the background. There's a little mouse toting the gorilla's banana, each animal's cage has a toy, and, of course, the zookeeper's wife's surprise and familiarity with the animals following him home. My daughter's definitely picked up some rather complex animal names (e.g., giraffe, armadillo) and picked up on the gorilla's shenanigans pretty quickly. Very fun book.
Rating:  Summary: Great for signing! Review: If you are using sign language with your child, this is a great book! It is more of a picture book, but there are great opportunities to sign gorilla (monkey, banana and key on every page, as well as some good concepts for kids like "light" and "sleep." Even if you aren't signing, this book is fabulous. There are opportunities to identify animals and colors on every page, as well as finding the mouse and his banana.
Rating:  Summary: We read it over, and over, and over... Review: My son loves this book. While it does not have many words, the illustrations are wonderful. After about 3 times of reading it we began really looking at the pictures and now the book is quite interactive. The Gorilla uses a colored key to match the color on the bars for each animal. My 19 month old is not only learning the animal names and their sounds, he is also learning their colors. He of course has favorite pages that we have to read over and over, but overall, this is the one we have in a small travel size book and the larger library sized board book.
Rating:  Summary: Wonderful Children's Book Review: Our 3-year old grandson dearly loves this book. He has learned the names and how to pronounce the names of the different animals depicted in the story. He eagerly awaits the Good night, good night, good night pages. I find I don't grow weary of the repeated readings because he enjoys it so much.
Rating:  Summary: Cute, easy to read, fun Review: A cute and simple book to read that really inspires imagination in children!
Rating:  Summary: Very good book Review: A funny little book, this. Its simple, quick, and humorous. The illustrations in it are of a nice, eye-pleasing quality, portraying the animals in a fun, happy light. No sharp edges, no nasty, nightmare inspiring images. Nothing that would force a parent to explain, in the dead of night, that no large, hairy creatures are sitting in the bedroom closet to eat them. The ideas of the book are fun, simple and enjoyable. The animals are nice, friendly, yes, even cuddly. Quite well and good.
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