Title: "Good Night Gorilla"
Illustrator: Peggy Rathmann
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Publication Date: 1994
ISBN: 0-590-53598-6
Rating: 5/5 stars
In this wordless picture book, an adorable gorilla at the zoo snatches the keys from the zookeeper and follows him around the zoo. As they pass each of the different animals' cages, the gorilla unlocks each and every one. The zookeeper ends up bringing the entire zoo back home with him!
I give this wordless picture book 5/5 stars. There are some quotes throughout the book that say, "goodbye gorilla," or other animals, but other than that there is no text. This allows the children to use their imagination and develop the story on their own. The drawings are simple, but there are lots of bright colors, and the plot involves animals which most kids love!
Title: "The Snowman"
Illustrator: Raymond Briggs
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Publication Date: 1978
ISBN: 0-394-83973-0
Rating: 4/5 stars.
"The Snowman" is a wordless picture book about a little boy's snowman who comes to life in the nighttime. The pair spends the night together cooking, dressing up, and flying into the sky. After returning to his house at night, the little boy wakes to find his snowman has melted away.
I give this wordless picture book 4/5 stars. I love the drawings, and I think that this book has a very sentimental, but deep story for little kids to learn from. It teaches little kids that nothing lasts forever, and touches on the topic of loss. My only concern with this book is that the pages are made up of a bunch of different tiny photos, which may make the story hard for some little kids to follow.
Title: "Father Christmas"
Illustrator: Raymond Briggs
Publisher: Coward-McCann Inc.
Publication Date: 1973
ISBN: 0-698-20272-4
Rating: 1/5 stars
"Father Christmas" is a wordless picture book about a very unhappy and grumpy Santa Clause as he prepares for Christmas. The cartoon style book follows Santa as he sets up the sled and delivers the presents to all of the children. He complains the entire way, gets stuck in rain, and is only happy when he gets back home to his bed.
I personally did not like this children's book at all! Christmas is supposed to be a happy time for little kids, and I feel like this book has a very negative tone to it. It's okay to be honest and open with children, but this book is far too negative for a Christmas book. Also, the cartoon is a bit mature for children, because Santa is very happy when he opens up a bottle of alcohol.
I love Goodnight Gorilla! This was one of my favorites to read to my children because it is so funny! Young kids just laugh and laugh at this one--especially the black page with all the animal eyes wide open in the bedroom! I agree with you about The Snowman. It is beautifully illustrated and a very touching story; however, there is something very complicated and almost jarring about the number of illustrations and frames per page. I wonder if this would be better as a bigger book.
ReplyDeleteMarissa,
ReplyDeleteI have read all of your books that you picked this week. I absolutely love The Snowman book because like you said, it does teach the readers to know that some things do not last forever and it guides them into the topic in child friendly way. I also used to read this book when I was little and I loved telling my own story to my mom!
I too love Goodnight Gorilla! That's the book I'll be bringing in today! Krista, I'm curious how you felt about "Father Christmas?"
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