Gorky Rises

Gorky Rises
by William Steig

Gorky Rises
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Book Summary Information

Author: William Steig
Illustrator: William Steig
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1986-09-01
ISBN: 0374427844
Number of pages: 32
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Book Reviews of Gorky Rises

Book Review: Not as innocent as it seems.
Summary: 2 Stars

My almost four year old loves this book - we've read it several times a day since we got it (though I omit parts as we go along). It is a magical story, with random elements - not only in the plot but in the emotions and wording as well, which was disconcerting to me. I feel like this should be a fun, innocent, enjoyable book, but I think that the author meant it to be a bit jarring.

What really brought this feeling home for me was when his parents "were so worried that they were ready to kill themselves just to end their misery." How appropriate is that for a picture book? I skip over this sentence when I read Gorky Rises to my son.

There are two other references to death in the book: one humourous (Gorky "almost croaked" when he saw some scary creatures in the sky, which turned out to be kites); one not so much (if Gorky falls asleep while floating, he will "die with a shocking crash").

At the beginning of the book, Gorky puts a bit of his father's cognac in his magical mixture. Hmmm.

Gorky laughs at his cousin's "look of stupid wonder" when Gorky floats by. Why stupid? A sly commentary on the reader who is also watching Gorky's fly through the sky?

The more I think about this book, the less I like it.

Summary of Gorky Rises

One fresh and fair summer day, as soon as his parents go out, Gorky sets up his laboratory by the kitchen sink to have another try at concocting a magic potion. This time he strikes upon the missing ingredient--half a bottle of his mother's attar of roses--and he knows it's success at last.
While he is waiting for the bubbly, glinting liquid to show what it can do, he heads over to Elephant Rock, "his best spot for doing nothing." But on the way he stops to bask in the sun, soon falls asleep--and wakes to find himself floating in the immensely blue sky, clutching his bottle of magic.
There follows the most astonishing, bewildering, and bedazzling adventure a young frog could possibly have. Orbiting the globe has its ups and downs, however, and Gorky soon begins to wonder if he'll ever get back to earth. He does manage to outwit the magic; but the potion saves a last surprise until Gorky reaches Elephant Rock, just on day later than he had planned.
 
Gorky Rises is a 1980 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year, Notable Children's Book of the Year, and Outstanding Book of the Year.

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