Go-Go Gorillas

Something's going down at the Gorilla Villa, and King Big Daddy wants all the gorillas at the villa. Pronto! So gorillas on scooters and pogo sticks and even hot-air balloons have go to go-go gorillas or they'll miss the big surprise!

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1—King Big Daddy dispatches his mouse messenger to gather his family for a big announcement at the Great Gorilla Villa. The 10 relatives hurry over, each using a different method of transportation, from a rowboat to a pogo stick to a plane. "Niece Isabel was second:/'There's no need for you to worry./If I row there in my rowboat,/I can make it in a hurry!'" Their travels are punctuated by the relentless refrain: "Go-go gorillas! Gotta go, gorillas, go!" Taylor's busy, colorful watercolors track the chaos and the joy as the family welcomes a new baby. Though the story itself is slight, the rhyme and repetition make it a bouncy read-aloud for transportation units.—Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD

Julia Durango resides in Ottawa, Illinois, where she wrote a weekly book review column for children. She is the mother of two sons and is the author of Dream Hop, her first picture books with Simon and Schuster, illustrated by Jared Leeher as well as Pest Fest, illustrated by Kurt Cyrus.Her most recent picture book was Go-Go Gorillas, a sequel to Cha-Cha Chimps, both illustrated by Eleanor Taylor. Her first novel The Walls of Cartagena was published in fall 2008 and was a Junior Library Guild Selection. Her second novel, Sea of the Dead was published in Summer 2009. She is a contributor the Three Silly Chicks blog and lives in Ottawa, Illinois.

Eleanor Taylor is the internationally beloved illustrator of numerous picture books, including Chicken in the Kitchen by Tony Johnston. Ellie and her husband live in London, England, with a son who isn't quite old enough to run around chattering like a monkey -- but maybe this book will change that.