Gary and Ray

PreS-Gr 1—Gary is lonely because the other forest animals find a gorilla too intimidating to play with. A tiny sunbird named Ray sees his sadness and befriends him. Gary is happy, but still wishes he could have a family of his own. Ray finds Susan for him, and the rest is history. The extremely simple story line holds little drama, and the human names and anthropomorphized attitudes of the animals are at odds with the naturalistic illustrations. Despite the flatness of the story, readers will be entranced by the textured lino prints, reminiscent of the woodcuts in Gail E. Haley's A Story, A Story (Atheneum, 1970). Stylized and blocky but full of movement, the artwork is the highlight of this book. Purchase where jungle stories are in high demand, or for use in an art-appreciation lesson.—Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL