Your little one will thoroughly enjoy the humor in Good Night, Gorilla when a clever gorilla swipes the keys from the zookeeper at the end of the day, and lets all the animals out of the cages. With the only words being 'goodnight' and the animals' names, your child will learn to recognize each word. The pictures truly tell the story in detail, as every page is filled to the edges with vibrant colors. There are also subtle details to look for, such as the tiny mouse on every page lugging around a banana, or how each animal also had a mini stuffed animal of themselves in their cages. You can make it a game with your little one to find those little additions.
Learning the animals' names will happen naturally, as readers follow the zookeep on his final round for the night, saying 'goodnight' to each animal one at a time. There are many familiar animals such as the gorilla, elephant, and giraffe, but also some new animals such as the hyena and armadillo. Your child may enjoy the humor of how oblivious the zookeeper remains to the growing line of animals following him all the way home. This book will inspire imagination and likely bring many questions about the animals and if it could really happen.
My niece, Emily, absolutely loves this book. She first heard it when she was one, but now has it memorized and loves adding on to the story. She includes dialogue of the animals talking to one another, using different voices for each one. Since she's making it up, it's different every time we read it now, and I always love to see what she's going to have them say. She named the gorilla Emily.
--Audra