At bedtime, the little gorilla cleverly grabs the zookeeper's keys and frees a parade of animals to follow the keeper home to bed. The zookeeper's ...
read full description
reviews
Jun 13, 2008
Chak
rated it: 
Good Night, Gorilla is the quintessential "first book" for very young children (6 months through to approximately 3 years). It has very few words (only "good," "night," "gorilla," "dear," "zoo" and the names of the five other animals in the book)and is brief.
Even read as merely a story, the book is engaging for a very young child, thanks to the bright colors, silly story line and playful illustrations. Where the book really More...
Even read as merely a story, the book is engaging for a very young child, thanks to the bright colors, silly story line and playful illustrations. Where the book really More...
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Apr 09, 2008
jenna
rated it:
Q LOVES this book! Why? I don't really know. But we must read it over and over. If we start a different book, she'll tolerate that for a bit, but then... she starts pointing to Good Night, Gorilla... "that! that!" It's the first book we read in the morning, and the last book we read before bedtime.
It is an awfully cute board book, and I appreciate the stereotype of the zookeeper's wife as the person who really gets things done. On a side note, how can anyone resist a book w More...
It is an awfully cute board book, and I appreciate the stereotype of the zookeeper's wife as the person who really gets things done. On a side note, how can anyone resist a book w More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Oct 05, 2008
Jean
rated it:
This is an especially fun after hour’s trip to the zoo for the toddler set. Colorful pastel illustrations and playful details supported by repetitive text make for a lively bedtime story. I know, contradiction you may say, but it is a great book to share as your family prepares for slumber. After just a few reads, wobblers and toddlers will recognize the pattern and bid each animal, name, “Sweet dreams”. Each time I pick it up, I find something new...the character Babar in the elephant cage,
More...
Jan 13, 2012
Finn
rated it: 
Dad and I read this book yesterday, and we both loved it. Dad liked it because it was about a very smart monkey who lets all the animals out of their cages at the zoo. Because, as my Dad says, wild animals should not be kept in zoos. Mom disagrees. But Dad is right. Obviously. Anyway, this gorilla frees all of his friends, and they all sneak back to the zookeeper's house, and sleep in his warm bedroom... until the Zookeeper's wife hears them all say goodnight and leads them back to the cag
More...
Sep 14, 2011
Nichole
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jul 10, 2009
Shanna
rated it:
Good Night Gorilla is a charming, nearly-wordless book about a gorilla living in a zoo. When the zookeeper bids the animals good night one-by-one, the gorilla filches the ring of colored keys from his belt and lets himself out of his cage. He then follows him around the zoo, matching the keys to the cages of the same color, and letting the animals out. The animals parade quietly behind the zookeeper as he walks home across a field, bids his wife goodnight and turns off the light. When all of
More...
Mar 28, 2011
Peacegal
rated it: 
Hmm, I’m a bit torn on this book. Good Night, Gorilla begins with a zookeeper locking up for the night. The problem is the zoo, which is populated by the cell-like iron-barred cages that went out with Victorian menageries. Gorilla, a highly social creature, is caged all alone. And though the zookeeper is a kindly, chummy sort, the parallels between his locking of the cages and a prison warden’s nightly rounds are rather obvious.
If that were the gist of the story, my ratings would def More...
If that were the gist of the story, my ratings would def More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 26, 2011
Candice
rated it:
Not many words and terrific, colorful illustrations make this appealing to even very young children. As the zookeeper locks up for the night, he tells each of the animals Good Night. When he passes the gorilla's cage, the gorilla reaches out and steals his keys. As the zookeeper passes each successive cage, the gorilla follows right behind, unlocking each one. Soon the zookeeper has a parade of animals behind him. They follow him into his house, and we see them settling down to sleep in his
More...
Jun 19, 2011
Shannon
rated it:
A friend at work recommended some picture books to me recently; she has a background in speech pathology and gets these books for her own nieces and nephews and the kids of friends, and they've loved them. Most of them I hadn't hear of - I'm not sure about this one, sometimes it seems really familiar to me and other times I don't think I know it at all.
It's told mostly in pictures, the text consisting of, largely, the zookeeper saying good night to the various animals. It's very cute More...
It's told mostly in pictures, the text consisting of, largely, the zookeeper saying good night to the various animals. It's very cute More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Apr 29, 2011
Tracy
rated it:
(Age 1) I loved this book even before Asher did. It has a really cute, funny premise, and almost no text. Asher really enjoyed the part when all the animals say "good night" and I really enjoyed the nice little visual touches (like looking for the balloon float away on each page, the toys in the animal cages, the people in the window watching the animals march across the yard).
Sep 29, 2011
Laura
rated it:
The story itself is a little bit disturbing. I tried telling one of my friends how my son loves this book about a gorilla that follows the zookeeper around letting all the animals out and eventually ends up in the zookeeper's bed, and she was so creeped out that I had to get the book to show her that there wasn't anything truly scary in it.
In fact, the illustrations are downright cute, from the Babar doll in the elephant's cage to the picture of the gorilla with the zookeeper and More...
In fact, the illustrations are downright cute, from the Babar doll in the elephant's cage to the picture of the gorilla with the zookeeper and More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jun 21, 2011
Sunny
rated it:
We adore [u]Good Night, Gorilla[/u]! Its a picture book, and has very few words, but it is very endearing! As the Zookeeper says goodnight to all the animals, a mischevious little gorilla swipes the keys, and lets the animals out of their cages. The zookeeper ends up going home and getting into bed, tells his wife "Goodnight", and to his shock, he hears "goodnight" replies from all the animals, who are in his bedroom! The page with all of the "goodnight" respons
More...
Oct 15, 2010
Slayermel
rated it:
This has got to be one of my favourite children’s books. There are hardly any words in it which makes it great for all ages as they can use their imagination to tell the story in their own words as we flip through and look at what’s happening in the story. The Zoo keeper locks the gorilla in his cage and says “Good night Gorilla” and goes to walk away. The gorilla steals the keys from him and proceeds to let himself out. There is so much going on in the pages that the children in my class al
More...
Sep 20, 2011
Christina
rated it:
This book has been my 7-year-old's favorite book since he was a toddler. We have read it until it has fallen apart. The nice thing about this book is that I enjoy reading it with him everytime we have read it (and that has been lots). I never get tired of this book. The book would be nothing without the correlating illustrations. It tells you page by page what is happening. Whether with or without words. This is one of the elimants that works so nicely in this book. Our favorite page is the
More...
Dec 28, 2010
Jamie
rated it:
This book will have children and adults laughing at the silly gorilla. The gorilla sneaks the keys to the zoo out of the zookeeper’s pocket, and unlocks he doors for all of the animals in the zoo as the zookeeper says goodnight to each animal. All of the animals follow the sleepy zookeeper home and settle down in his bedroom. The zookeeper’s wife finds all of the animals, and escorts them back to the zoo, but the sneaky monkey follows her home again.
The illustrations are very colorful an More...
The illustrations are very colorful an More...
Jan 31, 2012
Analissa
rated it:
With hardly any words goodnight gorilla does a good job telling its own story. Through out the book you see that you don't need words to tell this story. As the silly gorilla unlocks the cages to all the zoo animal as the zookeeper is trying to lock it up and says goodnight to each of them, the animals all follow the zookeeper to his home where the zookeepers wife discovers them once her husband has fallen to sleep and she returns them back. But the gorilla some how gets out again and goes back
More...
Nov 04, 2011
Lindsay
rated it: 
This picture book is intended for Nursery aged children. It is about a gorilla from the zoo that causes havoc behind the back of the guard by letting all of the animals out and following him home. This illustrations are dark in color. There are no words until the last page. This book is really hard to "read" to kids. Are you supposed to make up a story yourself or is it meant for kids to be able to read to themselves? The illustration is very boring and dark and it lacks excitement. O
More...
Jan 30, 2012
I think this is such an awesome picture book! This is definitely a book that you can read once and miss several small details that you do not notice until you go through and read again! For instance, the first time I read the book I did not even notice the mouse that was present in all the pictures! When I got to the last page I finally noticed the mouse and thought to myself, "Where did the mouse come from?" I was curious so I re-read the book and then noticed that there was also a ba
More...
Dec 22, 2009
Joan
rated it:
I have loved this book from the first time I 'read' it to my (then) little boy and have given many copies as baby and birthday presents. It is the story of the zoo keeper (named Joe) who went through the zoo saying good night to the animals. The Gorilla snatches Joe's keys and lets everyone out so that they can go to the zoo keeper's home and spend the night with him. In saying goodnight to each other the animals are discovered by the zoo keeper's wife to tucks them all back into their cages
More...
Dec 08, 2008
Amanda
rated it:
After hearing several people talk about this book, I had to check it out. I wish I'd known about it a year ago, because it's one that I think a 2 yr old or younger could really dig too. DS's favorite part was where the zookeeper's wife says "Goodnight" and there is a two page spread that's all black with several "Goodnights" being said (in different voices) around the room. It's simple, cute and funny in all the ways that little kids get. Like I said, if I'd had this a ye
More...
Nov 04, 2009
Zak
rated it:
Still possibly my favorite children's book of my second childhood (aka my first parenthood), GNG is very visual, so it's suitable for very young children as well. Besides the lush colors and sweetly comic story, this book will also appeal to careful older readers, who may notice all of the subtle background details such as the Babar doll in the elephant's cage or the zookeeper's wall of photos, all of which include animals as if they were members of the family.
More...
More...
Apr 14, 2011
Heidi
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Oct 16, 2011
Lindsey
rated it:
Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann is about a tired little zoo keeper that is surprised in the end of the book. He goes about his usual business, making sure each animal cage is locked and saying good night to each animal. Little does he know, the animals have been let out, and are following him close behind. When he finally gets into his pajamas and into bed, a quirky surprise awaits him in the dark.
It is a simple book and an easy read, but the pictures and goofy plot keep rea More...
It is a simple book and an easy read, but the pictures and goofy plot keep rea More...
Sep 14, 2011
Matthew
rated it:
This book is extremely similar to "Sick Day for Amos Mcgee", so if you liked that book, you will probably like "Good Night, Gorilla". It is about a zoo keeper, who is secretly followed home by the animals he says, "Good Night" to. I thought that the illustration were the main focal point in the book, as there were many pages without words at all, but are left for the child's interpetation. Also, there are numerous details in the illustrations that add to the story a
Jul 20, 2009
Jeanna
rated it:
Brice and I love this book almost as much as Coriel does. We love how we're always noticing something new about it (like the family pictures in the hallway that all have animals in them, where the balloon floats, etc.). It's so cute and silly! Also, it has taught us important things like the fact that Bert (or is it Ernie?) must be an armadillo (most of the animals have toy versions of themselves, and the armadillo has a Bert/Ernie doll!).
This book is porcupine good.
This book is porcupine good.
May 04, 2009
D'Anne
rated it:
I really love this book. I have only ever read the board book version so I don't know if the story is more extensive in paperback (sometimes that is the case), but I doubt it. The story is simple and somewhat repetitive, which makes it good for the board-book set. Watching the zoo keeper bid the animals goodnight and seeing the gorilla following him around helps establish a compassion for animals while also demonstrating that humans aren't necessarily the boss of everyone.
Jun 04, 2008
Jennifer
rated it:
(SPL BookFlix)
Delightful drawings and mesmerizing music illuminate this Weston Woods film based on the mischievous book by Peggy Rathman.
CIP:
As the zookeeper makes his nightly rounds, he has no idea that Gorilla is letting all the animals out of their cages. A thoughtful little bear decides to get the moon a birthday present, so he climbs a mountain to ask the moon what it wants. Granny and all the critters in her house pile on her bed for a nap, until a little flea has More...
Delightful drawings and mesmerizing music illuminate this Weston Woods film based on the mischievous book by Peggy Rathman.
CIP:
As the zookeeper makes his nightly rounds, he has no idea that Gorilla is letting all the animals out of their cages. A thoughtful little bear decides to get the moon a birthday present, so he climbs a mountain to ask the moon what it wants. Granny and all the critters in her house pile on her bed for a nap, until a little flea has More...
Dec 17, 2009
Rashida
rated it:
The little one loves this book. A sneaky little gorilla is determined to spend the night in the zookeeper's bed. Along the way, he brings his friend the mouse, the elephant, the lion, the hyena, the giraffe, and the armadillo. Cute pictures that make the animals friendly instead of ferocious, and simple word bubbles that grab the attention of pre-readers. Easy for her to read to me, which is a plus when she wants it read four times in a row.
Sep 17, 2011
Annabellecarter
rated it:
Good night gorilla is an extremely cute, nearly wordless story about a cheeky monkey who steals the zookeepers keys and lets all the animals out without the zookeeper knowing. All the animals follow the zookeeper back to his house and all go to sleep together. This is a great book for young children beginning to read; the illustrations are very enjoyable for young readers and relates well to the little text there is.
Jan 27, 2010
Suzanne
rated it:
It is Ella's turn to fall in love with the naughty gorilla who liberates all the zoo animals. She has a voice for each animal and points out the key in the gorilla's hand on each page. When the pages are black printed with many "good nights" I point to each word bubble and she says "good night." When the little gorilla is discovered in the zoo keepers bed Ella covers her mouth and says "Oh!" Lots of fun for Nonie, too.
