Review — Go to Sleep, Gecko!
The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s — 12/11/2006
Gecko has a problem: every night, when it is time to go to sleep, fireflies gather round his house, “blinking their lights on and off … on and off,” and keeping him awake. He takes his problem to the village boss, an elephant, who spends the next few days getting to the root of the issue. Ultimately, Elephant deduces that the fireflies blink so that travelers can spot the buffalo poop in the road, the buffalo poops to fill the holes made by the rain, and the rain falls to make puddles for the mosquitoes, the very mosquitoes that Gecko depends upon for food: “Gecko,’ said the Elephant. ‘This world is all connected. Some things you just have to put up with. Now go home and go to sleep.’” This simple tale of the interconnectedness of all things is perfectly pitched to its audience—Gecko’s needs are simple, namely sleep and food, and his frustration over the lack of the former is quickly eradicated when faced with the possibility of not having the latter. Valério’s fanciful acrylic paintings employ a palette of bold blues, greens, and yellows, and thought bubbles are used to great effect in illustrating possibilities (the buffalo’s bubble shows a small creature falling in a hole, the rain’s bubble shows a hungry gecko) making for great talking points with a young audience. While expressions are simply rendered, the animals’ faces convey a great deal of emotion (the elephant’s narrow eyes speak volumes as to how he feels about being woken up at midnight by the returning gecko). With its sprinkling of sound effects, unusual cast of characters, and gentle patterning, this is a comical yet thoughtful bedtime read. A thorough source note is included.
Title Details: Go to Sleep, Gecko!
Author: Margaret Read MacDonald
Illustrator: Geraldo Valério
Interest Level: GR PreK-2
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