Gorilla

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On the night before her birthday, Hannah was ‘tingling with excitement’. Can you think of other ways to describe how she was feeling? Although very sad at the beginning I found this story to be refreshingly honest and deeply gratifying. Willy the Wimp” is a humorous story written by Anthony Browne, which will appeal to all children due to its wittiness and hidden meaning behind the story. If "Gorilla" (1983) was the book which made Browne's name as the artist to draw gorilla's, " Willy the Wimp " introduced us to his alter ego - "a chimpanzee living in a world of gorillas" according to Browne. Not a difficult relationship for children to identify with - the classic gorilla barging Willy off the pavement, the bully, the bodybuilder. Famous works of art can be found in the illustrations, but the people have been replaced by gorillas. Can you identify the original pictures? Who painted them?

Themes of childhood loneliness is very strong in the first half of the story and whilst Hannah dreams of trips to both the zoo and cinema, it's nice that she actually gets an even better treat on her birthday. For more on postmodern picture books see David Beagley’s lecture on iTunes U, or my notes on that, here. A lovely story about how a lonely and neglected girl living with her father finds comfort and joy in the thing she loves the most, gorillas! The reader (along with Hannah) now learns that Dad really does think about his daughter. He has intuited that Hannah is fascinated with gorillas, and has planned exactly the birthday outing she has been dreaming about. He’s the sort of dad to hang Hannah’s pictures on the wall, framed. The young readers are left with the message that even when they feel that their caregivers don’t care about them, parents actually do love them, no matter what. This is a reassuring story: children will eventually receive the attention they crave. Hannah was frightened. “Don’t be frightened,Hannah,” said the gorilla, “I won’t hurt you. I justwondered if you’d like to go to the zoo.”The gorilla had such a nice smile that Hannahwasn’t afraid. “I’d love to,” she said.Hannah would like nothing more than to spend time with her father; except he’s always working, “not now, I’m busy, maybe tomorrow” is the usual response. The disappointment, isolation and sadness Hannah feels immediately echoes with the reader. You’d better go in now, Hannah,” said the gorilla.“See you tomorrow.”“Really?” asked Hannah.The gorilla nodded and smiled. There is no comfort in this house — not even a sofa to sit on, and no carpet. Notice the map of Africa on the wall — a part of Hannah’s imagination. The truly masterful part of this illustration is that the light coming out of the television turns the pattern on the wallpaper into butterflies. The light coming out of the television is Hannah’s only company — her only brightness in an otherwise dark home environment. The book could be used as a class story because of the numerous talking points i.e. discussing Hannah’s emotions (there is a wide range throughout the text), whether animals should be kept in the zoo (Hannah says she feels “sad” when visiting the zoo) and the depiction of a single parent family (Hannah’s mum is absent from the story). The story could also help inspire creative writing; children could develop their own adventure/dream stories with their favourite animal. Or alternatively children could write a letter to Hannah’s Dad (or vice versa) explaining how she feels during the first part of the book, this activity may be better suited to older pupils.

Hannah loved gorillas. She read books aboutgorillas, she watched gorillas on television, andshe drew pictures of gorillas. But she had neverseen a real gorilla. Look at the map on Hannah’s wall. What place is shown in it? What information can you find out about that place? The gorilla took Hannah to see the orang-utan,and a chimpanzee. She thought they werebeautiful. But sad. The next morning a very excited Hannah rushes downstairs to tell Daddy all about her adventure, but before she can say anything Daddy wishes her a Happy Birthday and asks her if she’d like to go to the zoo! Hannah is extremely happy. Comprehend the core themes of the text: By exploring the themes of loneliness and parent-child relationships, students will gain a deeper understanding of the human experience.Understand how illustration and text contribute to meaning: This unit emphasizes the symbiotic relationship between text and illustration, demonstrating how they work together to convey a story’s message. After days of being alone, eagerly waiting for the attention from her very busy father, Hannah's toy gorilla becomes real and takes her on an adventure to the zoo, the cinema, a restaurant and the evening ends with a dance on the lawn. To Hannah's surprise, her birthday wish comes true as her father is waiting to take her to the zoo the next morning!

Gorilla’ is an intriguing picture book from the esteemed author and illustrator Anthony Browne. The narrative uniquely examines serious themes like loneliness and parent-child relationships through the lens of a human-gorilla transformation. Central to the story is a young girl’s solitude and her relationship with her father. The narrative is layered with subtlety, inviting children to interpret the story in their unique ways. The intricate beauty of the illustrations not only appeases the eye but also encourages children to share and revisit the book. Come on then, Hannah,” said the gorilla,and he gently lifted her up. Then they wereoff, swinging through the trees towards thezoo.I feel that this is something I missed out on learning languages; actually reading real texts rather than dated Spanish novels. The night before her birthday, Hannah went tobed tingling with excitement – she had asked herfather for a gorilla! The illustrations are beautiful and really make the story come alive, and although children of primary level would not understand all the Spanish language and the sentence structure, it would be a fantastic book to read to younger KS2 students who were learning Spanish. Look at the use of speech within the text. Could you rewrite the story as a play? Could you perform the play to others?

Hannah loved gorillas. She loved reading about them, looking at films about them, and drawing them. Unfortunately, her hard-working and rather distant father never seemed to have the time to take her to the zoo to see them live. He was always busy working in the evenings, or too tired at the weekend. Then, on the night before her birthday, Hannah dreams that the toy gorilla her father has given her comes to life and takes her on a magical night-time trip to the zoo, the movies, and a restaurant. It's a wonderful experience, but no more wonderful than her father's offer, the next day, to go to the zoo together... Afterwards the walked down the street together.“That was wonderful,” said Hannah, “but I’mhungry now.”“Okay,” said the gorilla, “we’ll eat.” The story is about Willy the gorilla, who is a bit of a wimp. He decides to 'beef up' as he is fed up of being called a wimp, so he does this. Can he change though? Although very sad at the beginning I found this story to be refreshingly honest and deeply gratifying. Exploring feelings such as loneliness, anxiety, excitement and contentment, through simple effective text and beautifully persuasive illustrations, Browne creates a real sense of what it is like to be a child.Of course, terrible caregivers do exist in real life. But they don’t tend to populate picture books. Even in the young adult category, truly terrible parents are extremely rare.