Review: Girl an Gorilla Out and About, by Rick Walton and Joe Berger

9780062278913

Girl and Gorilla are best friends. Girl and Gorilla want to play at the park. But how will they get there? They can . . . Hopscotch! Or jump rope! Maybe they can just close their eyes and wish they were there! But when they open their eyes . . . they are not at the park. Will Girl and Gorilla ever get to play at the park?

You can never go wrong with goofiness in a children's book, and there is plenty of goofiness here. Girl would be the straight man in this comedic routine, while Gorilla is every silly toddler in the world. My mind immediately went to extensions like having kids come up with other ways (realistic and not-so-much) to get to the park. Or, to the moon - the other play option given - or any other places you can dream up. Maybe a keep-em-busy in the car or in the check-out line activity?

Then again, if your kids are like mine, they will likely just glom onto the recurring line, "You don't have a tail," and run around shrieking that instead. Either way, the goofy story and expressive pictures (by the gentleman who illustrated Dot - I thought the girl looked familiar!) will require more than one reading!

Picture Book Review: Dot, by Randi Zuckerberg

9780062287519

 

 

Waaaaaaaaaaait a minute...Zuckerberg? Yes, she's his sister. Also, it seems, a quite capable writer. Here we meet Dot, who is as tech-savvy as many young children these days (even S., who is quite happy to play in the mud or sort buttons for hours, quizzed me the other day on exactly how and why you tag people on Facebook).

 

Dot knows how to tag, and surf, and tweet, on any number of devices. Her mother finally says, "Go outside, Dot! Time to reboot! Recharge! Restart!" There, Dot and her friends remember more interactive ways to tag, surf, tweet, etc., all adorable illustrated by Joe Berger. This one will be hitting story time before it even hits the shelves (loosely fitting next week's already chosen theme of...dots!)  I hope we will see more of both Dot and Ms. Zuckerberg in the future.

 

As promised, an easy and obvious gift suggestion - include a coupon good for one day of exploring outside with Mom or Dad! Maybe even offer to bring some friends along, pack a lunch, and head somewhere you aven't been before.

 

Thank-you to HarperCollins for the review copy!