Rating: 
Summary: Read the review
Review: A modern-day fable of sorts, whose message is
false and misleading, and definitely not suitable for kids.
This is an adult's book whose main charm is the wonderful
illustration work, binding, and printing quality. The artist
did a fabulous job, certainly worthy of awards. I only wish
his work wasn't used for a project that has such a bitter
sting to its theme. Thus you probably won't want to
keep it to pass on to your young ones. Cover up the text
and blot out the downcast view of human nature and you
have a great picture book.
Rating: 
Summary: Great fun and truly wonderful design by Smith
Review: As a fan of both Saunders and Smith, I felt compelled to pick this one up. The book itself is well-made -- beautifully bound with heavy, tactile paper. I was expecting something a little more adventurous from Saunders, but still he knows how to tell a fun story in the tradition of Seuss and Dahl. Gappers from the sea are molesting the goats of Frip with their joyous shrieking, while young Capable must support both herself and her widowed father, who insists on eating white food. You get the idea. Or maybe you don't. The real stand out here is Smith's illustration. I'm hoping to buy or recreate a couple of these pieces and hang them on the wall. A good book for the kids' shelf too. This one will make for about an hour of bed-time reading and picture-viewing.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Fun
Review: George Saunders, master of the short story, turns out another brilliant one. The accompanying illustrations by Lane Smith aren't to my taste. They resemble the claymation from 'Nightmare Before Christmas'. The real jewel here is the story. The story is simple, yet fabulous. Gappers are small orange furry creatures with dozens of eyes. Their main ambition is to climb onto goats and squeal with joy. The people of Frip do not like gappers. Great story. This is a book you can read with your children. There's nothing objectionable or adult in the book, but Saunders prose is not as simple and concise as most children's books. He writes complicated, convoluted sentences. I love it. He has been called the successor to Phil Dick's outrageous literary legacy. I'm not sure I agree with that, but '..Gappers of Frip' reads just like one of Dick's best. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Versatility of Saunders
Review: George Saunders, the master of quick-witted stories about a dystopic near-future that are despairing and hopeful at once, tries his hand at a children's book. He has not only succeeded, but has written one of the modern classics in children's literature. The story of Capable and her father is movingly told, without sentimentality. Typically swift and effective characterization you find in Saunders' adult fiction can be found here, i.e. the father who barks at the sun to stay up, eats all his food after it's been dyed white because white rice is the last thing his wife ate before she died. The main story of Capable having to fend off the gappers who threaten the entire stock of goats in her house and persevere the situation is told with incredible agility. The villains, the hilariously self-righteous Christian neighbors who refuse to help, are drawn with such surreal, but vivid force, that one cannot help but feel polarized at such disparity in grace given and not given to people, the apparent unfairness in the world. It makes you feel like a kid, once again, so unabashedly rooting for Capable and the good to overcome the hypocritical world. Saunders opts for a gentle ending where everyone, including the neighbors, finds a harmonious way to live. The underlying hope and faith that present itself so ambiguously in Saunders' fiction are more openly expressed here. All in all, a tremendously satisfying reading. If you are a fan of Saunders, or a well-told tale, you can't miss with this one. It is savagely funny as well as gently moving. Lane Smith's illustrations are uniformly gorgeous.
Rating:
Summary: Silly, fun, wonderfully illustrated.
Review: George Saunders, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip (Villard, 2000) Saunders (Pastoralia) and illustrator Lane Smith (The Stinky Cheese Man, James and the Giant Peach) team up to deliver this cautionary tale about helping your neighbors out of a jam. And while the story wears its moral far too plain on its face, the story itself, and the wonderfully twisted illustrations that accompany it, make it worth a read. Capable and her father live in the very small town of Frip. It's so small, in fact, it only has three houses. Frip's whole economy is based on goat's milk. Which is all well and good, except for these odd little amphibians called gappers, who love goats, and shriek with joy when they see a goat. The shrieking makes the goats nervous, and causes them to stop giving milk. So life in Frip is a constant battle of keeping the gappers away from the goats. Things get nasty when the gappers realize that Capable's house is the closest to the sea, and so they should all lavish their affections on Capable's herd. Which makes her neighbors very happy, since their goats are no longer plagued. They refuse to help her with her gappers, and thus the conflict at the center of the book is born. This is exceptionally fun stuff. Perhaps having the Lane Smith illustrations put me more in mind of the late Roald Dahl than I otherwise would have been, but there is certainly a Dahl-esque feeling to Saunders' writing. Dahl was usually better at concealing his morals within the context of his stories (overly-moralizing oompah-loompahs excepted, of course), and so I have a hard time ranking Saunders with the best of Dahl's work. But it is a fine thing, and quite worth your time. ***
Rating:
Summary: Odd little book...
Review: I bought this book for the title...how could I resist it...and I have a good friend that truly loves goats. This book is 'very' easily read in one sitting...good thing, because you will want to read it again (and probably even more). It's very difficult to say what the story is about without ruining it...my husband read it last weekend and our discussion led me to the conclusion that this is a wonderful book with no "moral of the story"...yet is completely filled with "morals of the story"!?! I liked it because there was no preaching, no this is the way it "has" to be...it leaves it up to you to decide what you get from it...the author assumes that you actually have a working mind...nice feeling for a change. Although it is impossible for me to classify it, it is a pleasure to read and I get something different from it depending on my mood. Trust me, I very seldom rate anything a 5, but it deserves it (and more) and all I can say is don't miss out on this treasure of a small book. Oh yeah, you'll really think the book and cover are super!
Rating:
Summary: George Saunders Rocks.
Review: I had read all of Mr. Saunder's work, but had avoided the Very Persistent Gappers of Frip until I saw it on sale at Amazon. I bought it and read it to my six year-old twins who laughed out loud and who now call the burrs in the back yard "gappers" and brush them off their socks with an old brush. It is just a matter of time before they get the idea of walking them down to the beach and dumping them into the sea. This book is funny and insightful and great for kids and grown-ups alike. Idea: this would make an excellent Teacher Appreciation Day gift for your child's teachers.
Rating:
Summary: The Very Persistent Excellent Read
Review: My sister gave me this book recently as a birthday present. Immediately I was struck by the bold, yet somewhat disturbing illustrations (the voodoo doll) that accompanied Saunders slight moral tale. "The Very Persistent Gapper of Frip" tells the tale of the extremely small town of Frip, three families to be exact, who make their living raising goats and protecting their beloved economy from the gappers - bright orange shrieking creatures who love goats. If left to their own devices, the gappers will completely cover a goat and soon he will stop giving milk, therefore putting a halt to any sort of income for the three families. The children of the three families are responsible for brushing the numerous gappers from their goats at any given time of the day. The less-than-bright gappers settle their sights on the main character, Capable's goats. She has lost her mother and her father refuses to change (or to eat anything that isn't white) and so she is left alone to handle all the gappers of Frip since her neighbors believe her to be cursed. Seemingly alone, Capable must teach herself, her father, and her neighbors the true meaning of community (as well as how to overcome the persistent gappers). "The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip," is a delightful and quick read even if it has a somewhat apparent purpose and moral. The illustrations by Lane Smith truly elevate this slight tale to an instant classic.
Rating:
Summary: The Very Persistent Excellent Read
Review: My sister gave me this book recently as a birthday present. Immediately I was struck by the bold, yet somewhat disturbing illustrations (the voodoo doll) that accompanied Saunders slight moral tale. "The Very Persistent Gapper of Frip" tells the tale of the extremely small town of Frip, three families to be exact, who make their living raising goats and protecting their beloved economy from the gappers - bright orange shrieking creatures who love goats. If left to their own devices, the gappers will completely cover a goat and soon he will stop giving milk, therefore putting a halt to any sort of income for the three families. The children of the three families are responsible for brushing the numerous gappers from their goats at any given time of the day. The less-than-bright gappers settle their sights on the main character, Capable's goats. She has lost her mother and her father refuses to change (or to eat anything that isn't white) and so she is left alone to handle all the gappers of Frip since her neighbors believe her to be cursed. Seemingly alone, Capable must teach herself, her father, and her neighbors the true meaning of community (as well as how to overcome the persistent gappers). "The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip," is a delightful and quick read even if it has a somewhat apparent purpose and moral. The illustrations by Lane Smith truly elevate this slight tale to an instant classic.
Rating:
Summary: Why the Very Persistent Gappers Of Frip is such a great book
Review: My very favorite children's book in the world is The Very Persistent Gappers Of Frip! I love it so much because of all of the humor and the hysterical plot. If you are to read a children's book, read this one! It is about a town consisting of three families who make their poor living by milking goats. It would be easy, if it were not for the gappers. You must read the book to find out what a gapper is and what is does, (...)
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