Fat Elliot and the Gorilla

by Daniel Pinkwater

Genres: Picture Books

47 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Daniel Manus Pinkwater is an author of mostly children's books and is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio. He attended Bard College. Well-known books include Lizard Music, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, Fat Men from Space, Borgel, and the picture book The Big Orange Splot. Pinkwater has also illustrated many of his books in the past, although for more recent works that task has passed to his wife Jill Pinkwater.

Reviews

[Geoffwood]

On a very superficial level, this book had me laughing in a kitsch "adult collector" way because it is unbelievably curt and cruel and I cannot imagine anyone thinking this was a healthy way to talk to a child.
On a secondary level, even if one has the "drank from the hose" mindset that a diet book for kids should exist, this one is uniquely toxic out of even that set and is basically a how-to guide for body dysmorphia and eating disorders.
On a tertiary level, the book jacket finds the author revealing it is semi-autobiographical, so one must then conclude his cheery advocacy of the dysmorphia and eating disorder are expressed through a near total lack of self-awareness and reflection, and it just lands a very bizarre piece, indeed.

[elstaffe · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the weirdness and the art, but the rest does not hold up great.

[Readersaurus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite Pinkwater. The title is the best part.

[Kevin Hogan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Not his best work, but better than much.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my least favorite Pinkwater books - just didn't have the usual "magic"