Literary Titan Book Award - Gold: 5 Stars
This creative children's rhyming book explains the perils that gorillas face in the wild. The narration is provided through a letter written by Silverback Jeremy, a mountain gorilla that pens a letter to humans in hopes of educating them on all the man-made challenges that gorillas face.
A Letter from a Gorilla, while cute, tells a very serious story. This story explains, in very simple terms, how gorillas face extinction and shows the different ways that man is endangering them. What I really liked about this story was that it went beyond stating the ways that their species are at peril and provides different ways for people to change and take action to protect these majestic creatures that, as we learn through the story, are much like us.
The beautiful illustrations really drive the points home with some vivid, dramatic, and well-drawn imagery. The language is easy for children to understand, but I think the book should be read with adults as this book provides plenty to talk about afterwards. This picture book provides readers with a sad but very important story that is perfect for teachers to add to their curriculum about primates, endangered animals, and how our actions affect nature.
Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite - 5 Stars
How many of you know how to write a letter, and have actually written a letter? Do you enjoy writing letters and, better yet, receiving them in the mailbox (not the email box, but the real mailbox)? Well, there is a gorilla named Silverback Jeremy who has written a letter and he wants us all to read it. He speaks of the dangers and threats we humans pose to our natural environment and to the natural places he and so many other animals call home. In his letter, he compares gorillas to humans, pointing out that we really aren't that different, but we humans seem to care less about the world around us and others who live in this world.
Wayne Gerard Trotman's picture book story, A Letter From a Gorilla, is written in rhyming verse and in the form of a personal letter to all of us. Accompanied by beautiful illustrations, this story describes the gorilla, his natural habitat, and how humans are a threat to the lives of gorillas and so many other wild animals. The letter begins by pointing out the similarities between gorillas and humans: "Your cruelty surprises me, for your knowledge is vast/ But it seems that man has forgotten his distant past/ However, there are certain truths we gorillas hold fast/ Men and gorillas are relatives, from first to last." And the letter goes on to describe the similarities before pointing out the bad impact humans are having on the world around them. Sadly, gorillas are becoming an endangered species, like so many other wild animals, and this letter is cleverly constructed to point out the many ways we humans have threatened their continuance on this planet. A powerful message in a well-constructed letter.
