Good gnus! by Phil Cummings
When is a gnu not a gnu? It is also called a wildebeest, adding another level of snorting mirth to Good gnus! Phil Cummings’ latest book, which makes fun of the word, gnu, with its silent g. So what else can also be found in this work? What about saying the word gnu out loud, remembering the g is silent. Then it sounds like news and so underscores the ways in which the word is used on each page, homophones offering two different meanings for the word, gnu. Young readers will have a belly laugh at each pair of words. What about ‘late gnus’ (think news) or ‘overseas gnus’, ‘old gnus’, ‘live gnus’ and ‘hard hitting gnus’?
Each page adds another reason to guffaw as readers get the joke and add what they know about the news they hear on television. They will be able to tell stories they have remembered which can be placed into the categories Phil outlines. Who has heard some ‘good gnus’, or ‘gnus flash’, perhaps someone has heard of a ‘gnus desk’ or ’local gnus’ or ‘overseas gnus’. I can imagine kids bubbling over themselves with a story they have heard and want to share.
Some of the pairs make for a more contemplative response such as, ‘sad gnus’, but most are very funny, showing the range of news stories we are exposed to every day. Some will require more thought: ‘fake gnus’, ‘scary gnus’, ‘hard-hitting gnus’.
Words and their meanings are at the heart of this story, as children will learn of the way we get news, the way it is promoted and the importance we attach to it. And reading any of Phil Cummings books out loud rewards readers and listeners alike as the infectious rhythm takes over.
Phil’s humour is mirrored by Daron Parton’s wonderful digital illustrations. Each page is a delight to pore over, with a text that invites an imaginative response and an image which charms the eye. The two gnus cause havoc from the time they get up. We see the ‘morning gnus’ bounce on their bed, causing Dad’s ‘gnus cross’. The two play outside, ‘live gnus’, and play cricket, ‘hard-hitting gnu’s, when a window is smashed, ‘breaking gnus’, the parents call ‘no gnus.’ Every image reflects the pair of words wonderfully aligned to an illustration that will tickle the funny bones of all who read it. After a hectic day of ‘gnus flash’ the children go to bed, ‘gnus just in’. A full day of activity sees the parents eager to have their kids retire to bed.
The long faces of the gnu family will entice readers to check out what these animals look like at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildebeest
Themes: Humour, Word play, Gnus, News, Family, Rhythm, Puns.
Fran Knight