Good Night Gorilla

By Peggy Rathmann. Born and raised in Minnesota she received her degree in Psychology at the University of Minnesota.  She now lives with her husband and family on a ranch in California.  To visit Peggy's official site and for more information click here.

Genre:  Fiction
Theme: Animals/Zoo
Ages: 2 - 6

Summary: A zoo keeper says goodnight to the animals on his way through heading home.  A playful gorilla gets a hold of his keys and the animals follow him home and surprise his wife.


Link to Picture

Pre-Reading Activity: Ask students if they have a schedule of events, order, or routine at night before bed time.  Tell students what your night time routine is and ask some students to share one thing that they always do before bed time.  Be sure to include who you say good night in your explanation, as the upcoming text is about saying goodnight.

Post-Reading Activity: Have students make a list of the people and things they want to say goodnight to. Have them complete the "Good night, ..." pattern for at least 3 things/people of their choosing.

Reflection: This is nearly wordless picture book the illustrations tell such a great story.  It is a great story to talk about animals as well.