Review Detail

Big Gorilla: A Book of Opposites

Kids Fiction 53

Primate Opposites

November 14, 2024

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

3.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

This oversized picture book has very little text, arranged with lots of white space on the page. THe gorillas, chimps, and apes are often centered in the middle of the page with no background, making the details of the illustrations really pop. There are not that many concepts; old and young, sand and happy, heavy and light, big and small, and alone and together. Each of these are illustrated with examples of a variety of primates. The ending is gently amusing, with a question about what is the opposite of opposite, and both pages have the same image.

Good Points

The real draw here is Browne's illustrations. He excels at drawing animals, and has previously published Gorilla, Willy the Wimp, Things I Like, Little Beauty, and even a retelling of King Kong. In addition to great attention to detail, these pictures also have a wide variety of facial expressions that are gently amusing.

A lot of books about opposites are very rudimentary, and often in board book or cloth book formats. While I prefer one with a little more humor and a bit of a story, like Hokkanen's Kitty and Cat: Opposites Attract or Corda's Cat and Dog: A Tale of Opposites, Big Gorilla would be great for group read aloud about opposites where more artistic illustrations are needed. There are no shortage of books on this topic, including Lionni and Gerardi's A Little Book About Opposites and Gee's Up, Up, Up, Down.