About the Author

Anthony Browne is one of the most popular and stylistically distinctive children's book artists with a number of outstanding titles to his credit. Gorilla was the winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Kurt Maschler Award. Other titles include four books featuring Willy the lovable chimp: Willy the Wimp (9780744543636); Willy the Champ (9780744543568); Willy the Dreamer (9780744569643) and Willy's Pictures (9780744582406) as well as the picture books Into the Forest (9781844285594) and Silly Billy (9781406305760). In 2000, Anthony received the highest international honour for illustration, the Hans Christian Andersen Award, for his services to children's literature – the first British illustrator to win the prize since 1956.

Reviews

Browne's meticulously unpredictable illustrations create an extraordinary atmosphere.
*The Guardian*

Again, Anthony Browne deals with an important issue in his individual and fascinating way.
*Child Education*

Exceptional Illustrations
*Independent on Sunday*

Browne's meticulously unpredictable illustrations create an extraordinary atmosphere. * The Guardian *
Again, Anthony Browne deals with an important issue in his individual and fascinating way. * Child Education *
Exceptional Illustrations * Independent on Sunday *

K-Gr 3-- A multilayered tale of the effects of a young boy's imagination. Joseph Kaye is left home alone while his father picks up his mother. Before he leaves, he tells Joseph that things are ``going to change.'' At a quarter past ten, Joseph notices that the teakettle slowly metamorphoses into a cat; a slipper becomes a bird. The bathroom sink takes on human qualities: a pants leg, lips, nose. And so it continues throughout the house and the yard where the garden hose becomes an elephant's trunk and Joseph's bicycle wheel becomes an apple. Finally Joseph retreats to the darkness of his room until his parents appear--with his new baby sister. A fantasy strongly reminiscent of The Tunnel (Knopf, 1989), this book does not have the overt humor of Piggybook (Knopf, 1986) or the ``Willy'' books (Random). Although a provocative and intriguing concept that is beautifully and skillfully illustrated, its very visual premise limits its use. Without the guidance of an adult, many young readers, while still delighting in the pictorial alterations , might miss the point of these changes and, thus, the story completely. And most youngsters will not recognize the references to famous works of art or the many other small, pointed details that foreshadow the action. Although many children may be held at a distance by a lack of understanding, this is still an exciting and thought-provoking book. Devoted fans of Browne's work as well as larger collections that appeal to a wide range of esoteric tastes will find a place for it. --Jane Marino, White Plains Public Library, NY