This week year 6 wrote their own versions of ‘Gorilla’ by Antony Brown this week. Hamid’s was amazing! Morgan’s illustration is excellent too! Here’s Hamid’s for your reading pleasure with Morgan’s picture:

Hannah Green, a young six year old girl, loved Gorillas! Gorillas were her favourite! She loved reading about them, watching them on TV and even pretending to be them! She adored everything about them. She thought about Gorillas when she was awake, and dreamed about them when she was asleep!

More than anything in the whole world, she longed to see a real Gorilla, but her father was always too busy to take her. If she ever asked him, he would reply, “Not now Hannah!” (normally rather dismissively).

That evening, Hannah, brimming with joy, realised that is was her birthday the next day. But the smile on her face slowly started to fade as she knew her father would be to wrapped up in his work to take her anywhere. As he was now; working into the night. Slowly, Hannah ambled up the stairs into her bedroom. When she got there, she found something on her pillow: a bright red parcel with a pretty pink ribbon sitting on top. Full of hope, she tore it open, only to find a silly fake toy gorilla. Dissatisfied, Hannah tossed it aside in dismay and cried herself to sleep.

However, Hannah needn’t have been so distraught since in the middle of the night something amazing happened, something that would change her life forever…

She was sound asleep when suddenly she was abruptly awoken by the sounds of large grunts and standing before her was a furry giant beast with bulky enormous shoulders. Implausibly, she looked up. Surely it wasn’t? Could it be?! Yes! It was a real gorilla!

Frightened yet curious, mortified yet gob smacked, Hannah steadily pulled up her covers, leaving only her eyes uncovered to scan ‘it’. But to her disconcert, the gorilla opened his mouth and, in quite a shrill voice offered, “Would you like to go to the zoo with me youngling?” He smiled a caring smile that melted away all of Hannah’s fright. “Ok!” answered Hannah and snuck downstairs – with the gorilla – and put on her jacket.

“What’s your name?” questioned Hannah curioously. “My name is Orangutomy.” Hannah laughed a playful laugh that made the gorilla smile. Then, Orangutomy slipped on Hannah’s dad’s coat, and they were off. They swung through the trees, closer and closer to Hannah’s dream. The zoo!

When they arrived, to their misfortune it was closed. “Never mind,” said Orangutomy, “Up and over!” But Hannah didn’t move, so the gorilla – reassuringly – took her hand, looked her in the eyes with consolation and care and said, “Hannah, if you trust me jump over. I will hold your hand all the way.”

With that, the two jumped over the fence and headed straight to the primate habitats. Hannah thought they were beautiful, but very sad.

“What would you like to do now?” asked Orangutomy. “I’d love to go to the cinema,” replied Hannah, so they did.

Afterwards they were very hungry so they decided to go and eat. As they ate, the gorilla swiftly put a banana in his pocket and tapped his nose and smiled at Hannah. She giggled. When they were done, they both went home, a bit sleepily, and said their goodbyes.

“See you tomorrow Hannah,” said Orangutomy with a cheeky wink. And he slipped off in the midst of the starry night sky like a spider in the crevices of a dark room.

The next morning, Hannah woke up and beside her, was the toy gorilla. Her face lit up. She rushed downstairs to tell her father all that had happened, when she stopped in her tracks. Decorations hung everywhere, balloons of various colours, a delicious cake on the table and right in the centre of it all was the most precious gift Hannah could ever ask for. Her father’s love. “Happy birthday! Would you li,ke to go to the zoo?” asked her father, and without speaking she put on her jacket and headed out.

“Hey, how did this banana get in my pocket?” asked a puzzled Hannah’s father. She smiled.