Good Morning, Gorillas

Another delightful Magic Tree House journey where Annie and Jack spend a few days living among a family of mountain gorillas in Congo and learn the "magic" of communication. Osbourne knows a lot about gorilla behavior and incorporates it into the story in informative and entertaining ways.

Though I am not a primate fan in general, I have to give this book more points than most of the rest of the series for several reasons. 1. Jack actually takes useful and relevant notes (even though he decides that his notes don't actually capture his experience- duh!), 2. Any book that helps raise environmental awareness and empathy gets points, and 3. I liked the unique way that Jack and Annie bond with the gorillas and explore their behavior. This book describes Jack and Annie learning about nonverbal communication and "animal magic" with a pack of mountain gorillas.

This is a great younger chapter book. I read it aloud to my 5 year old, and it not only kept her attention, but we both learned a bit about gorillas in the process.

This was my first experience with a Magic Tree House book (I know, a travesty for a librarian), and I intend to read more with my daughter!

I picked this book up expecting to feel brain cells dying as I read it. I was very wrong; I can see why my students enjoy this series so much. It's very well written (albeit extremely simplistic) and interesting. It was an extremely quick read and is educational, to boot!

I liked this book because I think it had a good plot to it. ack and Annie decided that they woud go to a rainforest. When they got to the rainforest, night was falling as they were trying to find their way around. Jack split up from Annie and then it become too dark for him to see and he couldn't find her. When morning came Jack wondered into a Gorilla nest where he found his sister sleeping with the Gorillas. Suddenly the Silverback, or leader, challenged Jack and seemed like he was going to hurt Jack, so he ran and hid. I thought that the author did a good job of spacing tension out in the plot. First she made Jack lose Annie which was scary, but they he found her. Then she had the silverback challenger Jack in a stare own which I show more think for younger readers is intimidating. I also liked the character development between Jack, Annie and the gorillas. They created a special bond with the gorillas that they will never be able to forget. They learned to communicate using sign language. At the end of the story, the silverback signed "I love you" to the two of them. I enjoyed the illustrations because I think they did a good job of showing what more descriptive text look like. There was one picture that showed what one of the baby gorillas looked like which was helpful for me to see that. There was also a picture which showed the challenge between the silverback and Jack which I also thought was important for readers to see in order to understand. I think the big picture of this book is to never judge a book by its cover. Originally Jack thought the Silverback was going to hurt him, but at the end of the story, the Silverback was only trying to be his friend. show less

Kearsten says: This is a great younger chapter book. I read it aloud to my 5 year old, and it not only kept her attention, but we both learned a bit about gorillas in the process.

This was my first experience with a Magic Tree House book (I know, a travesty for a librarian), and I intend to read more with my daughter!

Good Morning, Gorillas, is about two friends, Jack and Annie, who went looking for magic in Africa. While searching for the magic, Jack and Annie ran into some scary Gorillas. Although they were scared, the Gorillas invited Jack and Annie to eat with them. They were all having a great time until a black leopard appears. Will the Gorillas protect Jack and Annie, or will they turn against them and try to protect themselves? This story is about trust and friendship. Sometimes you can expect the unexpected from others.