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Priscilla Gorilla
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Priscilla madly, passionately loves loves LOVES gorillas. There are many reasons why, as Priscilla will happily tell you. But the best reason?
They always get their way!
So when Mr. Todd tells all his students to dress up like their favorite animal, Priscilla's choice is obvious. But dancing around and beating her chest when it's not her turn sends Priscilla straight to the ...more
They always get their way!
So when Mr. Todd tells all his students to dress up like their favorite animal, Priscilla's choice is obvious. But dancing around and beating her chest when it's not her turn sends Priscilla straight to the ...more
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Hardcover, 40 pages
Published
March 7th 2017
by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
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Apr 25, 2019
Abigail
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Recommends it for:
Young Gorilla Lovers / Readers Looking for Picture-Books Featuring Feisty Girls
Priscilla loved gorillas. She loved reading about them, looking at pictures of them, and dressing up as one for show-and-tell at school. But when her gorilla antics land her in the Thinking Corner, she begins to wonder if she is the right kind of gorilla - the cooperative kind - or the troublemaking kind...
Priscilla Gorilla is the second picture-book collaboration between American author Barbara Bottner and Irish illustrator Michael Emberley that I have read, following upon their Miss Brooks ...more
Priscilla Gorilla is the second picture-book collaboration between American author Barbara Bottner and Irish illustrator Michael Emberley that I have read, following upon their Miss Brooks ...more

I could look at Michael Emberley's art all day long. His faces edge just slightly into caricature, all the better to spotlight emotion or attitude. There's always something neat going on in the background, and always some reverberation from the text - beyond the simple one-to-one ratio of 'show what the words are saying. I always recall the patterned upholstery in It's Perfectly Normal - if you looked very very closely, characters sat on couches covered with fabric in a tiny uterus or vulva patt
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Adorable. Great read aloud potential!

This book tickled me. A young girl obsessed with gorillas is sent to the thinking corner repeatedly for disrupting her class. When she tells her parents that her class is running out in the Thinking Corner, her father informs her that the All About Gorillas book says: "gorillas mostly help each other. They've lasted all these millions of years because the COOPERATE." When Priscilla says she's more of a troublemaker gorilla. Her father replies that if she likes being a troublemaker maybe she shou
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This book is excellent! PRISCILLA GORILLA is a humorous, thoughtful story of a passionate girl whose love of gorillas sometimes gets a bit out of hand. A must have for home, library, and classroom collections.

I have a great appreciation of books about children who express their individuality despite the repressive nature of some adults. Priscilla is a free spirit. Her mom and dad encourage her to be. Priscilla is also nuts about gorillas. At school, her enthusiasm gets her into hot water with her teacher. In Barbara Bottner's Priscilla Gorilla, it's the teacher, Mr. Todd, who gets schooled not only about gorillas, but also about all things Priscilla. This book is illustrated in a magnificently fun-fi
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I'll be in the Thinking Corner.
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First sentence: When Priscilla turned six, her dad gave her a book called ALL ABOUT GORILLAS. They read it a million skillion times!
Premise/plot: Priscilla spends a LOT of time in her classroom's thinking corner. It could be because she's a HUGE distraction to the rest of her class. Priscilla is so completely-absolutely obsessed with gorillas that she does not want to learn, at least in a traditional sense of the word.
My thoughts: To teachers everywhere looking for a book besides Lilly's Purple ...more
Premise/plot: Priscilla spends a LOT of time in her classroom's thinking corner. It could be because she's a HUGE distraction to the rest of her class. Priscilla is so completely-absolutely obsessed with gorillas that she does not want to learn, at least in a traditional sense of the word.
My thoughts: To teachers everywhere looking for a book besides Lilly's Purple ...more

I liked the illustrations and appreciated the storyline about a little girl who is obsessed with gorillas--this will ring true to anyone who has experience with youngsters who get really, really enamored with one subject and have to know everything about it.
That said, I guess the adult in me was rather disapproving of how much Priscilla disrupted class, and how little control her teacher had over his classroom.
That said, I guess the adult in me was rather disapproving of how much Priscilla disrupted class, and how little control her teacher had over his classroom.

The bestselling duo behind the Miss Brooks books returns with a new book. Priscilla loves gorillas, mostly because they get to do whatever they want. She acts like them and dances like them. She loves to wear her gorilla costume all the time, particularly at school. But because she acts like a gorilla, her teacher puts her in the Thinking Corner sometimes. As Priscilla starts to be seen as a troublemaker, other children join her in the Thinking Corner in their own costumes. But perhaps it’s not
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When Priscilla receives a book on gorillas, she instantly falls in love. She talks about them, draws pictures of them and even wears gorilla pajamas. Gorillas are the best, because they always get their way! When her teacher assigns the class to write a report on their favorite animal, Priscilla’s choice is easy. The next day, Priscilla dresses up like a gorilla and goes to school, and decides to stay a gorilla, even after the report was over. The following day, Priscilla decides she is still a
...more

Priscilla loves gorillas and her gorilla costume and wears it whenever possible. Her behavior in school mimics gorillas and she earns some thinking time. Cute book and nice way of saying she has to think about acting like a gorilla in class. The teacher is more patient than most. Priscilla is a fun, precocious girl and reminds me of many children I know well. The illustrations are so fun and showing all the kids in their costumes for favorite animal reports. But find out what Priscilla misses wh
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Priscilla loves gorillas so much that she learns as much as she can about them and goes to school dressed up as one. Over time, she becomes more of a troublemaker gorilla than a cooperative one and is often invited to the "thinking corner" by her teacher. Her friends begin to join her there as they appreciate and repeat her antics. However, when they get to the zoo, all of Priscilla's knowledge comes in handy with the real gorillas. Pencil and paint illustrations bring the story to life and help
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I was really smitten by the illustrations in this book. They have an old-fashioned quality (so maybe invoked a bit of nostalgia?), and they felt very true-to-life in their depictions of school and home.
Priscilla is a bit of a stinker, but I like the way the adults in her life handle her quirkiness, and the ending is sweet. I think older elementary will enjoy this book as a readaloud.
Priscilla is a bit of a stinker, but I like the way the adults in her life handle her quirkiness, and the ending is sweet. I think older elementary will enjoy this book as a readaloud.

Priscilla madly, passionately loves loves LOVES gorillas. There are many reasons why, as Priscilla will happily tell you. But the best reason?
They always get their way!
So when Mr. Todd tells all his students to dress up like their favorite animal, Priscilla's choice is obvious. But dancing around and beating her chest when it's not her turn sends Priscilla straight to the Thinking Corner. As her attitude spreads, soon the whole Thinking Corner is full of her classmates!
Is Priscilla really channe ...more
They always get their way!
So when Mr. Todd tells all his students to dress up like their favorite animal, Priscilla's choice is obvious. But dancing around and beating her chest when it's not her turn sends Priscilla straight to the Thinking Corner. As her attitude spreads, soon the whole Thinking Corner is full of her classmates!
Is Priscilla really channe ...more

This story was such a great read that was quite engaging! I had the opportunity to read this story to students and they loved it and found it funny. Priscilla loves her Gorilla suit and no one can stop her from wearing it! It takes a lot of time and effort from her teacher and parents to understand that she needs to cooperate with expectations. This would be a great book to use at the beginning of the year for grades K through 3. It really brings in how cooperation is so important in the classro
...more

The artwork was fun to look at, but I thought the story was just okay. As an adult I kept thinking what a brat Priscilla was and I know she figures that out, kinda, but she also never really apologized. I think children will enjoy Priscilla's antics and be able to connect her passion for gorillas to something they also care deeply about. I also want to know if that many different animal pajamas actually exist in the world.
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“Priscilla Gorilla” by Barbara Bottner is a delightful read- aloud children’s book with a profound message and school-age wit. Illustrated by Michael Emberley, the protagonist Priscilla is brought to life throughout the book, in such an enjoyable manner it is as much fun to read as it is to look at. Children who hear the story might want to imitate Priscilla’s behavior and adults who read it might recall when they were her age. All in all it’s enjoyable way to spend story time.

Another children's book with great parenting techniques: when to let your child get their own way and letting them know in a purposeful but loving way when they've gone over the line! Priscilla's parents are modern and cool. Very satisfying storyline and ending.
I like Emberley's style of drawing active children. ...more
I like Emberley's style of drawing active children. ...more

The main character is passionate and opinionated, and also learns an important lesson that the littlest of kids are sure to relate to. I also like that the teacher did not handle a tricky situation very well, but later redeemed himself by doing a silly Gorilla dance (honestly, if a kid wants to take a picture in gorilla pajamas, let them).

Super cute story about a young girl who LOVES gorillas. She knows everything about them and is excited to dress as one and share her knowledge with the class. Her teacher doesn’t quite share her enthusiasm for the belief that gorillas also do whatever they want! This was a book I won in a giveaway and I’m certainly glad I can add it to our library collection.

Priscilla loves gorillas. She does a report, then decides to leave her costume on. She gets in trouble in class and ends up in the thinking corner. Pretty soon the whole class is with her. She figures out that gorillas cooperate with each other. So she apologizes and behaves. But she gets to wear her costume to the zoo.

I'm really not a fan of bratty characters, so Priscilla didn't appeal to me much. I also wasn't really sure what the message was. I understood how Priscilla came around, but Mr. Todd was still a mystery to me. His gorilla dance was pretty awesome, though.
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This story seems interminably long with lots and lots and lots of words and way too much happening on each page; moreover, the adults appear to be captives of this child's willfulness, which is an imprudent message to instill in the suggestible minds of young readers.
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Barbara Bottner, New York Times best-selling author, is a screenwriter, TV writer, and writing coach, who began her multi-hyphenate career as an artist and actor. Designing off-Broadway sets in the ’60s led her to performance and following her career in theatre, she began writing and illustrating books for children. In total, she has written over 40 books in all areas of children’s literature incl
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