Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann, has to be one of my all-time favorite stories for little ones. I cannot say enough how much delight and pleasure this story brings to young and old alike. The author takes the simple storyline of a zookeeper bidding goodnight to his animals, and portrays it so cleverly that it becomes captivating.
So what makes Good Night, Gorilla so special?
First, the storyline. By the light of his flashlight, a zookeeper is making his way around the zoo at the end of the day saying good night to each animal. Unbeknownst to him, the gorilla snags his ring of keys as he passes by. As he bids good night to each animal, the gorilla comes behind silently releasing each animal from its cage. One by one the animals follow along. Eventually, they all follow the zookeeper to his house and into his bedroom. Imagine the surprise his wife receives when she bids the zookeeper goodnight and all of the animals respond!
Second, the illustrations in this book carry the story to a whole new dimension. Peggy Rathmann tells the bulk of the story without words. The limited vocabulary includes only the animal names and the word goodnight, but the illustrations vividly fill in the missing details. Each animal lives in colorful cage, and its respective key is the same color. The zookeeper sneaks around the zoo after dark by the light of his flashlight. A tiny hard-working mouse and a pink balloon seen on the first page spread carry over into the remaining pages. In addition to all of this, the center pages of the book contain a surprise deviation from all this color. This abrupt change subsequently creates the climax of the story. In short, the illustrations are masterfully done.
In a later edition of this book, the author notes that this book was the best fun that she’d ever had with a pencil. Read Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann on repeat. Pour over the illustrations taking in all of the details. You will not tire of the sheer joy that it holds. Keep this book on your stack of bedtime stories that were recommended here.