Rabbit Ears Book Blog: [BOOK REVIEW] Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

Friday, March 31, 2017

[BOOK REVIEW] Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

Title: Good Night, Gorilla

Author: Peggy Rathmann

Genre: Bedtime / Animals / Zoo / Humor / Children's

Year Published: 1994

Year Read: 2017

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Source: Library

Content Rating: Ages 4+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on: Amazon // Book Depository

Now, I have a confession to make: I have often seen the book “Good Night, Gorilla” by Peggy Rathmann around many times when I was little and yet, I had never bothered to pick up the book despite the adorable looking cover. It was not until years later (way into my adulthood) that I finally got the chance to pick up this book and I have to say that I cannot believe that I waited this long to pick up this charming little picture book!

The story starts off with a zookeeper saying goodnight to a gorilla in his cage and as soon as the zookeeper goes off to say goodnight to the other zoo animals, the gorilla slyly take the keys from the zookeeper’s pockets and unlocks himself out of the cage. As the zookeeper goes around saying goodnight to the other animals, the gorilla quietly follows the zookeeper around, while freeing the other animals, which includes an elephant, a lion, a hyena, a giraffe and an armadillo, from their cages without the zookeeper noticing anything wrong. When the zookeeper finally goes back to his home to get a good night’s rest, the zoo animals ended up following him inside his house and…

Will the zookeeper discover that the animals are out of their cages?

Read this book to find out!

I cannot believe that I waited for years to actually read this book and it was definitely worth the wait! Peggy Rathmann had done an excellent job at writing and illustrating this book as I found this story to be extremely hilarious and cute! I really loved the way that Peggy Rathmann made the zookeeper and the gorilla’s adventures so cute and interesting at the same time as I was smiling the whole time during the scenes where the gorilla used the zookeeper’s keys to free the other animals from their cages. I also thought that it was cute about how the animals followed the zookeeper to his home as it added a unique twist to the usual children’s story about animals and the zoo as we have the animals actually break out of the zoo to follow the zookeeper home. Peggy Rathmann’s artwork was cute and gorgeous to look at as all the zoo animals are adorable looking, especially the small mouse and the armadillo and I also loved the fact that the majority of the story takes place during the night as it gives the artwork a soothing feel. I also loved the way that Peggy Rathmann made the backgrounds so luscious as it gives the artwork a beautiful feel to the story.

Overall, “Good Night, Gorilla” is a truly cute and hilarious story that children who love reading books that take place in the zoo and bedtime stories will definitely enjoy for many years! I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.