Good Night, Gorilla

Good Night, Gorilla. written and illustrated by Peggy Rathmann. 1994. 32p. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Author/Illustrator Website: www.peggyrathmann.com

Medium: pencil and watercolor

Awards and Honors: ALA Notable Children's Book for 1994, Bulletin Blue Ribbon 1994, Horn Book Fanfare 1995 selection, Parenting Magazine "Best Children's Books of 1994", New York Public Library 1995 "Children's Books 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing"

Audience: 2 and up

Annotation: 
A cheeky gorilla trails the unobservant zoo keeper as puts the animals to bed.

Personal Reaction: 
As a sleepy zoo keeper makes his way through the zoo, he bids goodnight to all the animals- "Good night, Gorilla", "Good night, giraffe", "Good night, elephant"- while the reader sees that the mischievous Gorilla has nabbed his keys and is letting all the animals out of their cages. The zoo keeper walks across the street to his house, animals trailing behind him, and gets in bed. As his wife says good night and turns out the light, the animals, snuggled up in the bedroom, respond in kind, waking the startled wife, who leads them back to the zoo and puts them all back to bed... All except the naughty Gorilla.


Rathmann's nearly wordless picture book is great fun for kids and parents alike. The cheerful jewel-toned illustrations are filled with small details- the pink balloon that trails the group, the mouse who drags behind him a banana as big as he is, the elephant's stuffed Babar toy. This book is excellent for eliciting conversation from kids using dialogic reading techniques, and is also a great choice for families who may be English language learners.