Friday 1 March 2013

ReadItDaddy's Book of the Week Part 2: Daddy's Choice - "Ding, Dong, Gorilla" by Michelle Robinson and Leonie Lord (Orchard Books)














In complete contrast to Charlotte's choice of Book of the Week, I chose "Ding, Dong, Gorilla" for giving both of us a heck of a lot of laughs during the week and putting a huge smile on our faces for one particular panel (think: lemon yellow dress!) that just completely broke us up every time we saw it.

But on with the story, and Michelle Robinson has come up trumps with the tale of a young boy who answers the door one evening expecting a Pizza Delivery Boy and instead comes face to face with a huge, gigantic, hairy and rather ill-mannered Gorilla (we liked calling him Uncle Graham because he's the spitting image of Charlotte's Unc!)

Gorilla sits anywhere he likes (where does a 500 lb Gorilla sit? Aw you heard that one eh?), he's got dubious taste in fashion and gets bored very easily. He's also a bit on the clumsy side. Vases (and windows) get broken, and walls get scrawled on.

Any parent will probably twig quite early on that it's pretty unlikely you're going to get an evening visit from one of our nearest simian relatives, and that things that happen around the house are usually down to the person making up such feeble excuses - but the delicious (literally) twist at the end is worth staying for.

If a book leaves you with such a sense of joyous naughtiness and hilarity, does it not deserve book of the week? Of course it does! Well done Michelle and Leonie, top work!

Charlotte's best bit: The dress bit. Too funny for words.

Daddy's favourite bit: Ditto, oh and of course the twist!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Orchard Books and the rather smashing Michelle Robinson)