"The bright sun shone over the African Rainforest.
Murilla Gorilla lived in a hut on the mountain.
She was asleep.
'Ring!'
It was her phone.
'Murilla Gorilla Detective Agency,' Murilla said sleepily"
When I picked up this book in a library I read the first page. When I saw that the gorilla named Murilla answered her phone I knew this was a book to enjoy.
Crime: Stolen banana muffins
Victim: Ms Chimpanzee
Detective: Murilla Gorilla
Suspects: Mandrill, Hippo, Tree Frog, Anteater, Okapi and Little Chimp.
Criminal: Not telling - you'll have to read this book to discover the muffin thief and then I recommend you bake a batch and enjoy this book all over again.
Junior detective series always appeal to me. I love The High-Rise Private Eye series by Cynthia Rylant, the Pip Street books and Detective Gordon series and now I have discovered Murilla Gorilla. A very satisfying easy to read story told in five chapters with vibrant graphic illustrations.
There are four books so far in the Murilla Gorilla series:
Image Source: Jacqui Lee (Click this link to see more of her wonderful art).
Jennifer Lloyd is a Canadian author. Click this link to read more about her work:
And the wildly varied contents of Murilla’s backpack, which she tips out twice during the story, allow children to practice reading unexpected words. But worthy though these achievements are, “Murilla Gorilla” is, above all, a pleasure to read and look at. Like the cheeky rascal who stole the muffins, readers will be hungry for more. New York Times
I would follow Murilla Gorilla with the detective books I mentioned earlier and later perhaps try these books about Precious by Alexander McCall Smith - they may be beyond the reading level of your child or student but they are perfect to read aloud. You can see the whole series here.
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