Horn Book (Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2001)

This book presents an accurate portrayal of these gentle animals. While the stunning, highly expressive photos dominate in space and impact, Simon's child-friendly writing also offers a fairly full picture of gorilla behavior, physiology, habitat, and daily life. The slightly redesigned and updated book ends on a strong conservationist note. Glos., ind.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6-A clear, concise picture of these endangered creatures and their lifestyle. Simon includes information on the three gorilla species and their physical differences, their habitats, diet, daily habits, various behaviors, and decreasing populations. The extremely handsome, oversized color photos enhance the readable text and complement it perfectly. Sadly missing is a map so that children can see how restricted the gorilla's range has become. However, this attractive, informative book certainly deserves a place in all collections, even those already holding Paul Burgel's well-written Gorillas (Carolrhoda, 1993).-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

ALA Booklist

In her characteristic illustrative style, Gail Gibbons introduces the three major types of gorillas, describes their physical habitats, and locates them in Africa with a hand-drawn map. The succinct, fact-filled narrative covers daily activities and physical expressions, family life and child rearing, predators and methods of defense, endangered status and attempts to preserve them. A final page includes miscellaneous facts and a short list of websites. Gibbons' many fans of her previous early nonfiction will welcome her familiar approach and clear, competent introduction.

Kirkus Reviews

"The more you find out about gorillas, the more interesting and less fearsome they become" is this prolific author's theme; he makes his case by matching appealing, shot-in-the-wild photographs to a fluently informative report on the gorilla's physical make-up and typical behavior. They are not so different from us, he contends, pointing to their DNA, fingerprints, and other features, describing their daily routines in the wild, how young are raised, what gorilla sounds and gestures signify, how they respond to perceived threats, and so on. His approach is wonderfully accessible, giving his young readers connections they can recognize: "Fully grown males may weigh more than four hundred pounds, about the weight of ten second-grade children." While it's an idyllic existence—"A gorilla belch means that it is feeding contentedly or sleeping nicely. One gorilla belches, and soon all the gorillas are belching in a slow, relaxing chorus"—it is also threatened, he notes at the end. Building his case carefully and thoughtfully, Simon ( They Walk the Earth , p. 485, etc.) leads the reader to understand how nearly human these gentle creatures are, thereby increasing the sense of obligation to save them by saving their forests. The photographs, most of which are closeups, capture how expressive gorilla faces can be. Who could resist their charm? Like Ted and Betsy Lewin's Gorilla Walk (1999), a sure way to turn gorilla-phobes into gorilla-philes. (Nonfiction. 8-11)