Apes A-Go-Go!

May 1, 2015
With great apes around, will the tidy town be fixed or flattened? In a lovely little town determined to win the Tidiest Town Competition for the third year running, the mayor notices that one flower is taller than the others. Fussy Great Ape offers to help. He does, but his help flattens all the other flowers. The mayor is incensed. Fussy Great Ape knows someone who can fix it, and he hollers, "Bogo! Pogo! Apes a-go-go!" (which is how great apes contact one another). Along comes his friend Mucky Great Ape, who's a gardener. He fixes the flowers but buries the street in mud. They call Sopping Great Ape, who washes the street but floods the town. After Thumping Great Ape and Sweeping Great Ape provide further "assistance," the town's flattened. They call Baking Great Ape, who makes a giant cake that everyone enjoys while the apes put the town back together. It's not perfect, but the mayor has found warm cake and friends might be better than awards-but when Smashing Great Ape offers to help clean up after the cake, the mayor decides to do it himself. Avant-garde fashion designer Milisic's debut is goofy and endearing. Allen's muddy pastel illustrations look like a long-lost Saturday morning cartoon designed by James Thurber. Gently whack-a-doodle, sure to leave little listeners aping the giant apes. (Picture book. 4-8)

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September 1, 2015

Gr 1-3-A small, stylish village is trying to win the Tidiest Town Competition for the third year running. When the mayor discovers a single flower that is longer than the others, he calls upon a passing Great Ape who promptly destroys the bed of flowers. When the mayor understandably freaks out, the Great Ape shouts out, "BOGO! POGO! APES A-GO-GO!" and another ape comes to tidy up the mess. When things don't go as well as planned, more Great Apes are called, until there is a path of destruction left in their wake. How will they clean up the town so they can win the competition? Will there even be a town after the apes "help"? Milisic's text has a nice, gentle rhythm to it, making it a good choice for a read-aloud for younger elementary children. Who could resist screaming out the Great Apes' mantra whenever it appears on the page in big bold font? Allen's pastel illustrations have a retro feel, which will make this a popular choice for parents with nostalgia for the cartoons of their youth. Text and illustrations pair well together to create an amusing story that kids will enjoy. VERDICT This is a great purchase for general collections. A silly story that young readers will go ape for! -Christopher Lassen, Brooklyn Public Library

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