Gabby and Gator [Hardcover]

James Burks (Creator)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

Gator has just never seemed to fit in with the other neighborhood pets...probably because he has a nasty habit of eating the other neighborhood pets. Flushed down the toilet as just a little snapper, Gator spends his days alone in the sewers...

On the streets above, little Gabby has never seemed to fit in with the other kids in town. She'd rather collect bottles and practice her tuba than gossip with the girls down at the pool, but it does get lonely being the only vegetarian on the block...

When Gabby and Gator meet, their fun and adventures prove that the best friends are those who accept you as you are, teeth and all!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Animator Burks, who has worked on projects from The Iron Giant to Wow Wow Wubbsy!, has now created a book with all the essential ingredients to appeal to a wide audience. On display are an outcast protagonist, a tambourine-playing alligator, and a car chase. Oh, and a moral to the story: accept yourself for who you are and find friends who do the same. Illustrated in a hybrid comics–children's book manner and using simple and straightforward panels, Burks tells the story of Gabby, a painfully shy homebody who doesn't speak outside of the house. She's picked on by the school jock and has no friends. Gator lives in a dry sewer where he ended up after getting flushed down a toilet. He's got an aversion to water, but an appetite for dogs. It's an unlikely pairing, which Burks capitalizes on for the sake of wholesome fun and entertainment. The message of self-love is heavy-handed at times, but pluses include an out-of-left-field ending. All ages. (Oct.) (c)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

About the Author

James Burks is an animation artist who's worked at Warner Brothers Feature Animation, Disney Feature Animation and Nickelodeon. He worked on such feature films as Space Jam, The Iron Giant, The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis and Treasure Planet.  He's also worked on the television shows Wow Wow Wubbzy, Dinosaur Train, and most recently on Fanboy and Chum Chum. His first book Gabby and Gator is a Junior Library Guild Selection.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Yen Press (September 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0759531455
• ISBN-13: 978-0759531451
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 0.8 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #190,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Burks has spent the last 15 years working in the animation industry on various movies and television shows, including The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis, Treasure Planet, Home on the Range, Space Jam, The Iron Giant, Wow Wow Wubbzy, and most recently on Fan Boy and Chum Chum. His first graphic novel for kids, GABBY AND GATOR, was published by Yen Press and is a Junior Library Guild selection. James is currently working on a picture book with Lerner/Carolrhoda entitled BEEP AND BAH, a new graphic novel with Scholastic/Graphix, and will be illustrating a picture book for Simon & Schuster/Aladdin.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get a Gator for a Pal, October 4, 2010

By 

ilovebooks4kids (Somerset County, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gabby and Gator (Hardcover)

James Burks, a former Disney animator who has also worked in television (Ni Hao Kai-Lan; Wow, Wow Wubbzy; Fanboy and Chum Chum) makes a gator of a great graphic-novel debut with GABBY & GATOR.

Gabby is a bit different than the usual school crowd--she's a vegetarian who loves to garden and play the tuba. She longs for a friend to understand her.

Meanwhile, Gator has survived in the sewer for ten years after being flushed by a mother who wouldn't let her son keep his mail-order pet. Hungry Gator has been innocently gobbling Poodles and other fluffy pets, sending Gabby's town into a frenzy over their beloved Fifis. Gator's a bit unusual himself--he's afraid of water, which reminds him of the toilet incident which separated Gator from his best buddy all those years ago.

One day in the park, Gator overhears a bully threatening to flush Gabby's hat down the toilet--FLUSH!!!--so he springs into action. Gabby and Gator become fast friends. He doesn't appreciate her fresh-from-the-garden smoothies, but he does dance and play his tambourine along to the BLURP-BLAT of her tuba. And Gabby helps Gator escape the net of blundering pet control officer, Floyd Fiddleman.

Reluctant readers won't be so reluctant to read this graphic novel, with it's bright and quirky illustrations which move the story along at a fast clip. And while no kid wants a moral shoved down their throat, GABBY & GATOR's message comes across subtly but powerfully--true friends are those who like us for exactly who we are.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It would be inhumane to not like this book!, October 7, 2010

By 

xXxBATSxXx (Edmond, OK United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gabby and Gator (Hardcover)

The story of Gabby and Gator is certainly one that a lot of kids, and grownups, can relate too. Neither character is really accepted for what they truly are, but when they find each other, a wonderful friendship is born! This book is fun and quirky with beautiful illustrations. It's a great story about friendship and acceptance with a nice little twist. I'm looking forward to the next graphic novel by this author.

Here's hoping we all find our own Gabby or Gator in life!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Both Endearing and Absurd, June 20, 2011

By 

GraphicNovelReporter.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Gabby and Gator (Hardcover)

When Gator's a baby, he's shipped in a box to a boy who sent away for his own Louisiana farm-raised pet alligator. The boy may think his new pet is fun, but his mother has other ideas. She makes her son flush Gator down the toilet.

Ten years later, Gator is still living in the sewer and eats local pets to try to silence his voracious hunger. He has his own computer and types his "Diary of a Dog Eater" on it, recording his shame and loneliness. Who said reptiles didn't have feelings?

Meanwhile, nearby, Gabby is a human girl who's just as lonely. She makes a to-do list for the day that includes "find someone who will accept me for who I am."

That isn't easy. Her nickname is "freak" and she's bullied by the other kids, especially a football player and three blonde girls who all look exactly alike. While watching the news, she learns about recent alligator attacks and a cruel man in animal control who's determined to stop the alligator, no matter what it takes.

Gabby also plays the tuba, and listening to the music catches Gator's attention. He starts following Gabby and meets up with her when the football player has stolen her hat and is tormenting her. Gator scares him off and gives Gabby her hat back, which starts up their unusual friendship. Besides being different species, the juxtaposition of Gabby being a vegetarian and Gator being a relentless meat-eater is shown more than once. The little girl takes her new reptilian friend home and tries to feed him vegetables, but it isn't long before the sadistic man from animal control has caught up with them and Gabby has to save Gator's life.

Gabby & Gator is rated for all ages and would be particularly aimed for children. It's cute and humorous, and the unusual friendship is a nice touch that makes it both endearing (for anyone who has had trouble making friends) and absurd (because it's a girl and an alligator). The absurdity--and the humor in it besides--will probably get lots of laughs from children.

The book is written in graphic novel form, with one to four panels to a page. Everything is in color and the print is large, which could be helpful for younger readers.

-- Danica Davidson