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Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

Summary of the Story

A zookeeper says good night to the animals, not realizing that the gorilla has taken his keys and let all the animals out. They all follow the zookeeper home and settle down in his bedroom. The zookeeper's wife discovers all the animals and leads them back to the zoo- all except for two, a mouse and the gorilla.

Introducing the Story

• Read the title of the book from the cover, while pointing to each word. Say the title together as you point to each word. Ask: When do you say "good night"? (You say "good night" when it's time to go to bed.)
• Point to the gorilla on the cover. Ask: What is the gorilla doing? (The gorilla is making the sign for quiet.)

Reading the Story for the First Time

• After reading the first page, talk about who the man in the story is and where the gorilla and the zookeeper are.
• Since this book has few words, you might want to tell the story with the child. As you look at the pictures, describe what is happening with or for the child. For example: Uh, oh. The little gorilla is taking the zookeeper's keys. Now the gorilla is climbing out of his cage. The zookeeper doesn't know the gorilla is right behind him.

Reading the Book Again and Again

• Each time you read Good Night, Gorilla, leave more of the "reading" or retelling to the child. Give open-ended prompts. For example, ask: What is happening here? What is the gorilla doing now?
• Give prompts about objects or activities in the pictures. For example, ask: What is this animal called? (It is an elephant.) Use your finger to point to what you are asking about. Evaluate the child's response. Expand it by giving more information. Ask the child to repeat the answer. If he or she needs help in answering a question, ask that question again the next time you read the book. Good words to ask about are listed in the vocabulary section below. Be sure to talk about objects and actions the child brings up, too.
• You may wish to discuss the prompts shown below.

Building Literacy

• Take a trip to a zoo and try to find some of the animals in the book.

Prompts

Ask the child questions after the second and third readings of Good Night, Gorilla, to start a conversation about the book. You can prompt the child on every page, using the questions below. If the child says something spontaneously about a picture, expand on it and ask the child to repeat it. There are questions for every one or two pages of the story.

1. What is happening in this picture? (The gorilla is taking the zookeeper's keys out of his pocket.)
2. Who is this? What is he doing? (This is the little gorilla, and he is climbing out of his cage.)
3. Who does the zookeeper say "good night" to here? (He says "good night" to the elephant.)
4. What is happening here? (The gorilla opens the lion's cage.)
5. What animals are outside the lion's cage? (The gorilla, the elephant, and the mouse are outside the cage.)
6. What is happening in this picture? (The gorilla is letting the giraffe out of his cage.)
7. What animals do you see? (a gorilla, a mouse, an elephant, a lion, a hyena, and a giraffe)
8. Who is the zookeeper saying "good night" to? (He says "good night" to the armadillo.)
9. Where is the armadillo?
10. Where is everybody going? (to the zookeeper's house)
11. Let's count the animals together. (There are seven animals.)
12. Where are the animals in this picture? (They are inside the zookeeper's house.)
13. What are the animals getting ready to do? (They are getting ready to go to sleep.)
14. Where is the mouse? (in the drawer with the banana)
15. Who says "good night" to the zookeeper's wife? (All the animals say "good night.")
16. Whose eyes are these? (These are the eyes of the zookeepers wife.)
17. Who is in bed with the zookeeper's wife? (The zookeeper and the gorilla are in bed with her.)
18. Is this where the gorilla is supposed to sleep? (No, he is supposed to sleep at the zoo.)
19. What is happening here? (The zookeeper's wife takes all the animals back to the zoo.)
20. What is happening here? (The gorilla and the mouse follow the zookeeper's wife back to her house.)
21. What is the gorilla doing? (He is climbing back into the bed.)
22. What is happening in this picture? (The gorilla, the zookeeper, and the zookeeper's wife are asleep. The mouse says "good night" to the gorilla.)

Vocabulary

The words listed below came from the story and its pictures. As you page through the book, point to the pictures and ask the child to name the object or the action shown. This will help the child learn new words. You can use the words below or you can choose words you think will interest your child. Below are words for every one or two pages of the story.

• gorilla, zookeeper, mouse, bananas, balloon, bike, cage, keys
• climbing out, flashlight, moon, nighttime
• elephant, ball, toy
• lion, bone, unlocking
• hyena, giraffe
• armadillo, baby bottle, pacifier, doll
• gate, house
• front door, bedroom door, pictures
• bed, yawning, sleeping
• drawer, pillow, blanket
• dark
• eyes
• surprised, grinning
• going back, slippers
• tiptoeing
• rear end, tail
• sleeping, banana peel