It is very well illustrated book. It follows the story of the zoo keeper checking on all the animals as he goes to bed, but they all escape, follow him home and try to get into bed with him and his wife who then returns them all to their cages.
There is only minimal text but it is still great fun to read and allows the space for parents to digress in many different ways.


What happened one night when the Zoo went to sleep...   July 12, 2004
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

If you look at the title "Good Night, Gorilla" and immediately think of the classic "Good Night, Moon," you are not alone. But whereas the latter is about a little rabbit who is putting off going to sleep by saying "Good Night" to everything in the room, this little treat written and illustrated by Peggy Rathmann is about a zookeeper who WANTS to go to sleep and is saying "Good Night" to all of the animals in the zoo. What the weary zookeeper does not know, is that the gorilla has grabbed his keys and there is a growing menagerie following him home to his wife.

"Good Night, Gorilla," is simply a charming little tale, where the drawings communicate much more than the dialogue. I want to think of the art as being a cross between watercolors and pastels, but then what do I know about art? What I love best is to find the mouse with the banana on the string in each picture, and I bet your children will love that too when they discover it on their own.


Always funny...   November 13, 2003
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

One of the few children's books which share that wonderful quality of being as delightful for the parents to read as for the child to enjoy. Its minimal text must help early reading skills, and there's plenty of opportunity for adding gestures to highlight the more dramatic bits of the story. It's my 15 month-old son's absolute favourite, and he simply never tires of it. There are simply too many good points to list in a review-buy it for your pre-schooler. (No, I am not the author!)