The gorilla in this story is uber clever, he can use sign language and lives in quite the decadent circumstances in a zoo.
One day he tells his keepers that he’s lonely and they gift him a sweet little kitten named “Beauty”. Beauty and the gorilla become best friends and do everything together. One day the gorilla gets very angry and he doesn’t deal with the anger very well, going on a rampage. The keepers think he will harm Beauty and threaten to take him away. That is until Beauty steps in to take the blame for his friend and like in all good fairy tales they live happily ever after.
The pictures are gorgeously evocative and you get a real sense of life from the pages. I think it’s this element that has made the book a firm favourite with my 2 year-old-Bebito. He’s loved it for well over a year now. It’s also got that wonderful element of collusion against the “grown-ups” that a number of great children’s books have.
Title: Little Beauty
Author/Illustrator: Anthony Browne
Publisher: Walker Books, $16.95 RRP
Publication Date: 2009
Format: Hard cover
ISBN: 9781406319309
For ages: 3+
Type: Picture book
This book is available online
This review by Cat Conidi
