Gorilla

Anthony Browne's Gorilla is a picture book for 5 year olds about a girl who longs to see a gorilla and a dad who never has a minute for her.

What happens

Hannah loves gorillas. She reads about them, watches them on television and draws pictures of them. But she's never seen a real one.

Her dad goes to work before she goes to school, and he works at home in the evening too. Whenever she asks him something, it's "Not now." At the weekend he's too tired. They never do anything together.

So when her birthday comes round, she asks for a gorilla. In the night she finds a very small parcel at the foot of her bed. It's a gorilla all right, but it's a toy. She throws it in the corner with the rest of her toys and goes back to sleep.

Then something amazing happens. The gorilla is real, and very big, and he'd like to know if she fancies going to the zoo. He puts on her dad's coat and hat ("A perfect fit") and off they go, swinging through the trees and straight over the zoo wall.

It's a proper dream of a night out. The zoo, the cinema, something to eat and a dance on the lawn. Who wouldn't want a gorilla to take them out for the evening?

There's a lovely sad moment at the zoo too. Hannah thinks the orang-utan and the chimpanzee are beautiful. But sad. It's a good moment to stop and ask your reader what they think.

What makes it special is the feeling underneath. Lots of children will know what it's like when a grown-up is always busy (and lots of grown-ups will feel a little pang reading it). The ending is gentle and very happy, and it doesn't tell anybody off.

The words are short and simple, so it's also a nice one for a new reader to have a go at on their own.

What to read next

If this one goes down well, Piggybook is by Anthony Browne too. Mrs Piggott does every single job in the house while her husband and two sons shout for their meals, until one evening she isn't there.