Gorilla

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Perform a reading of the story using expression to make it interesting to those listening. Use this video for inspiration: 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. 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. The text itself features relatively complex sentance structures so is ideal to read to a very young child or great to use to develope the reading skills of a more accomplished reader.

A feature of Anthony Browne’s work is that although the characters are depicted in almost naturalistic style, “in all styles we can only interpret faces with certainty as positive, negative or neutral in affect, with more subtle readings dependent on contextual and intermodal guidance. (Tian, 2011.) The illustrations in this book are good and funny and show the story well. Some of the illustrations do look a bit silly though such as the gorillas, who are body building. They look so silly that it made me laugh. Look at the patterns in the picture of Hannah’s kitchen. Can you see any examples of tessellation / symmetry / right angles? Look at photos of different primates and draw your own pictures of some of them. You could also look at video footage of gorillas and other primates. For example:

Write in-role to explore and develop an understanding of character: By writing from the perspective of the characters, students will gain a deeper empathy for them and a more nuanced understanding of their motivations and emotions. 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. A Browne classic although not so much of the magical realism. This is a "think-positive tale", the humour coming from our empathy with the classic underdog, his caricature modesty and puniness when compared with the burly gorillas, his character staying the same despite his inflated muscles, and his ego crashing at the end when he he walks into the lamppost. Hannah, a young girl, absolutely adores gorillas. The posters in her room; the bedside lamp, the box of cereal, are all adorned with her favourite animal. She spends her time reading, drawing or watching programmes about them. She has yet to see one in the flesh.

You’d better go in now, Hannah,” said the gorilla.“See you tomorrow.”“Really?” asked Hannah.The gorilla nodded and smiled. 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...

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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. I like the colourful illustrations in the book, but I found them quite stereotypical in the clothes that Willy and the gang were wearing. I think it is a positive example of how you can increase your confidence and become happy with yourself. It is up to you to make the changes, to get fitter and feel happier in your own skin. Come on then, Hannah,” said the gorilla,and he gently lifted her up. Then they wereoff, swinging through the trees towards thezoo.