Monday, February 10, 2014

Ding Dong! Gorilla! by Michelle Robinson (illustrated by Leonie Lord)

Ding Dong! Gorilla!
Author: Michelle Robinson
Illustrator: Leonie Lord
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
Publication Date: September 16, 2013
View on Amazon

Source: NetGalley


Ding Dong! Gorilla! is Dr. Seuss meets Laura Numeroff. Think The Cat in the Hat meets If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. A boy is attempting to explain to his mother just WHY the pizza they've ordered is missing and the house is destroyed, but how will she ever believe that a gorilla came in and did it all? My daughter loved this book and particularly loved saying the title over and over (and over) again. I think most preschoolers can relate to the need for a mysterious beast to blame for missing food and broken things...

My favourite part: I loved how the gorilla attempted to clean up his mess but put everything in the wrong places. The illustrations had some cute visual jokes that parents would pick up on. For instance, when the gorilla attempts to put back the boy's movies he somehow manages to get a copy of Jaws inside a ship-in-a-bottle and a copy of Jumbo in an elephant-shaped jar (though since it's a movie shouldn't it be Dumbo?).

My least favourite part: Did the pizza delivery boy ever get paid? That's not cool.

Magda's favourite part: I like saying "Ding Dong! Gorilla!" Also I like the part where they go outside to play soccer and it's dark out. I bet the boy is getting to stay up late!

Magda's least favourite part: Did they really not save any pizza for the mom? That's not very nice.

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