Ding Dong! Gorilla!

by Michelle Robinson, Leonie Lord (Illustrator)

Overview

While his mother gets ready upstairs, a boy is waiting for delivery of a great big pizza with extra cheese. When the doorbell rings, it isn't the pizza guy - it's - a gorilla! Without even being invited in, the gorilla heads straight for mischief. He dumps out the boy's toy box, colors on the walls, kicks soccer balls in the house, and makes a giant mess in the kitchen. And that's not even the bad news! While all this mayhem is going on, the real pizza boy comes, and the gorilla doesn't leave any for the family!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781561457304
Publisher:	Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
Publication date:	09/01/2013
Pages:	1
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 11.30(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD500L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

Editorial Reviews

Gorillas: they’re not all gently mischievous, as in Peggy Rathmann’s Good Night, Gorilla, or artistic and pensive, like in Katherine Applegate’s The One and Only Ivan. Sometimes they’re downright destructive. That’s certainly the case for the hulking specimen the young narrator accidentally lets into his family’s home, thinking it’s the pizza guy. “I didn’t invite the gorilla in,” says the boy, ostensibly talking to his parents. “He just barged right past me.” The gorilla embarks on a path of suspiciously childlike destruction, dumping toys and clothing on the floor, coloring on the walls, and storing DVDs everywhere from a cereal box to the toilet bowl. Bold typefaces highlight the gorilla’s worst offenses in Robinson’s (Yak Yuk) emphatic prose—as well as the boy’s claims of his own innocence. In digital illustrations with the feel of loose crayon drawings, Lord (The Super Hungry Dinosaur) creates mess after mess as the boy explains that the worst news is yet to come. After all the mayhem, the closing zinger doesn’t pack enough of a punch, but readers will enjoy debating the reliability of the boy’s alibi. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 3—After a gorilla shows up at the door, a boy has the wildest night of his life. Unfortunately, he then must explain to his family about crayon on the walls, toys and piles of dirty clothes all over the house, and a broken window and vase (spoiler: the gorilla did it). And that's not even the bad news! When the delivery boy arrives with dinner, the gorilla scares him away and then eats all of the pizza. Soon after, the animal slips discreetly out the door, too, leaving the boy to explain the situation, and his family with a messy house and nothing to eat. This British import has a "Cat in the Hat " vibe, though the textured illustrations (which are digitally rendered and have an oil pastel look to them) add softness to the piece; even at his most troublesome, the gorilla looks so sweet that all must be forgiven.—Jennifer Miskec, Longwood University, Farmville, VA

School Library Journal

2013-08-15
The mayhem begins with a pizza delivery, but blame it all on the gorilla. The inclination to deny culpability is a universal one, and young children are especially good at it. So when there's mischief afoot, a small boy with a very inventive imagination places all the responsibility on a mysterious gorilla who manages to absent himself just as mother appears on the scene. After all, how else to explain toys and DVDs scattered about, crayon drawings on the wall, a pile of clothes on the floor, a broken window and furniture, a chocolate-covered kitchen and other assorted disasters? He describes each episode, emphasizing his own complete innocence, and follows with "But that's not the bad news," indicating there's worse to come. That is left to the conclusion and an empty pizza box. Robinson builds the action with one hilarious explanation after another, seamlessly partnered with Lord's digitally rendered illustrations that fly across the pages. The little antihero's facial expressions indicate that he is appropriately appalled and concerned by this gorilla's outlandish behavior. The gorilla, on the other hand, seems to genuinely enjoy his exploits. The text is peppered with a smorgasbord of typefaces that grow larger and bolder as the events grow more improbable. Read it with a little fibber and just laugh and enjoy. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews