| Juvenile Literature |
| Juvenile Fiction |
Summary
Summary
Drawing.
Reading.
Building.
Painting.
These are things Nelly loves to do...but they're always better with Daddy Gnu!
With fun-to-read rhyme, a little silliness, and a lot of warmth, Anna Dewdney--the creator of the beloved llama llama books--tells the story of a daughter and her daddy and their wonderful day together.
Author Notes
Anna Dewdney was born in New York City on December 25, 1965. She received a bachelor's degree in art from Wesleyan University in 1987. Before becoming a full-time author and illustrator, she worked as a waitress, a rural mail carrier, a daycare provider, and taught at a boys' boarding school for many years.
Her children's book career began in 1994 with her artwork for The Peppermint Race by Dian Curtis Regan. She went on to illustrate other children's chapter books in the 1990s. In 2005, the first picture book she both wrote and illustrated, Llama, Llama Red Pajama, was published. Her other books include Nobunny's Perfect, Nelly Gnu and Daddy Too, Little Excavator, and 10 more books in the Llama Llama series. She died after a 15-month battle with brain cancer on September 3, 2016.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Move over, Mama Llama, it's Daddy Gnu's turn to shine! This book features Llama Llama's best friend, Nelly Gnu, as she and her father spend some quality time together. The arrival of a new high chair and playpen for Baby Gnu means large, empty cardboard boxes in the living room, and Daddy Gnu knows just what to do with them. He and his daughter put their heads together and transform the boxes into a perfect playhouse for Nelly. They measure, draw, cut, and glue. "But Nelly thinks it's not quite done/It needs some flowers, just a few./Time to shop with Daddy Gnu." They head off to the hardware store and buy some paint and brushes and a mini flashlight. They "paint the house with brick designs./Big bright flowers,/climbing vines," then clean up, and, yes, Daddy cooks dinner and reads stories, too. He really is a dream come true. The big, bold paintings are full of warm, homey details, and the animal characters have loads of charm. Who knew that gnus were so adorable?-Luann Toth, School Library Journal (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Nelly Gnu, a classmate to Dewdney's mercurial Llama Llama, steps out on her own in this father-daughter outing. Nelly is far calmer than Llama Llama, so there isn't any real "llama drama" (or would that be "gnu ado"?) in this story, which has Nelly and her father building a cardboard playhouse, then heading to the hardware store for supplies to decorate it. It's there that the story's only moment of alarm takes place: running to retrieve a dropped toy, Nelly gets separated from Daddy Gnu, a situation that's quickly resolved when he scoops her up on the following page. (Dewdney offers a reassuring father's-eye view of the reunion, creating a real sense of relief on Nelly's part.) The cheery rhymes and thickly painted artwork are in line with the look and mood of Dewdney's Llama Llama books, always emphasizing the warm bond between father and daughter. Nelly never gets much of a chance to exhibit much personality, though; more than anything, this is a Father's Day-ready vehicle to showcase an involved and attentive parent. Ages 3-5. Agent: Deborah Warren, East-West Literary Agency. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Nelly Gnu and her father use two large cardboard boxes to build a fine playhouse, complete with colorful painted flowers. The cheery rhyming couplets are full of Nelly's admiration for Daddy Gnu: "A great big box, some tape, and string-- / Daddy can make anything!" Depicting father and daughter from many different angles, the bright, expressive illustrations put their warm relationship front-and-center. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
