The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip

by George Saunders

Hardcover, 2006

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Genres

Children's Books

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

Your library

Publication

McSweeney's (2006), Hardcover, 84 pages

Description

"In the seaside village of Frip live three families: the Romos, the Ronsens, and a little girl named Capable and her father. The economy of Frip is based solely on goat's milk, and this is a problem because the village is plagued by gappers: bright orange, many-eyed creatures the size of softballs that love to attach themselves to goats. When a gapper gets near a goat, it lets out a high-pitched shriek of joy that puts the goats off giving milk, which means that every few hours the children of Frip have to go outside, brush the gappers off their goats, and toss them into the sea. The gappers have always been everyone's problem, until one day they get a little smarter, and instead of spreading out, they gang up: on Capable's goats. Free at last of the tyranny of the gappers, will her neighbors rally to help her? Or will they turn their backs, forcing Capable to bear the misfortune alone?"--Excerpt from Amazon.com.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member gazzy

Cute, odd, children's story. I thought it was going to be for adults as well, and it is, as much as Horton Hears a Who is.

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LibraryThing member woodge

Read this for the third time (it’s 84 pages, illustrated) and this time I did it aloud to Luke. It’s the story of a girl named Capable living in the town of Frip who’s exhausted from her job of brushing off gappers from her goats on a daily basis. Gappers are baseball-sized, multi-eyed

creatures that adhere themselves to goats and then shriek joyfully. The goats get put out. Capable’s neighbors are buffoons and she comes up with a plan. It’s a bizarre and occasionally funny tale which has the importance of being neighborly as a lesson learned. George Saunders is more well-known for his offbeat short story collections (I’ve read ‘em). This book is gorgeously illustrated by Lane Smith (of Stinky Cheese Man fame).

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LibraryThing member Sean191

I've rated this 2 1/2 stars - normally that would indicate I'm unlikely to read other books by the author. But, I've read a few other Saunders books before, so I'll ignore the guideline on this one. So, I loved the description of what the story was about...it sounded hilarious. I enjoyed the very

brief description of the Gappers. I thought the art was ok - I almost liked it, but it's similar to other books out there, and it seemed a little creepy without having any of the humor I'm used to in that type of art. The story - concentrated too much on the other characters and not enough on the heroine. It's short, so dedicating pages to the other characters really cuts into story development. On the other hand, I felt like some of the characters could have been removed entirely to give more space to develop the others. I would have liked to learn more about the Gappers too. I don't know if this would be something kids would really enjoy, maybe they would, but I've read other children's books with a similar feel that I believe do a better job of entertaining and providing some kind of lesson.

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LibraryThing member invisiblelizard

Great book, great story, great illustrations! Why not buy all of George Saunders fiction while you are at it?

LibraryThing member dwcofer

The Very Persistant Gappers of Frip is a brilliant book by George Saunders. Actually this is more of a children’s book, but is a book an adult can appreciate as well. The book is fabulously illustrated by Lane Smith. The illustrations are really spot on with the prose. A wonderful job by both

author and illustrator.

The story’s theme is the importance of helping others in need and the consequences of selfishness. This is a universal lesson needed by both children and adults. Saunders actually wrote a book about kindness? Yea!

I won't delve into the plot as the story is so short and I do not want to spoil it, but I cannot say enough good things about this book. Not only is it a good story, but it teaches a good lesson as well.

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LibraryThing member eembooks

Beautiful illustrations for this delightful story.

LibraryThing member Carmenere

The Gappers are persistent, indeed! The flashy cover and size of the book called out to me from new arrival section and before you know it Gappers were in my house.
Gappers are orange, multi-eyed creatures that live in the sea near the coast of Frip. Every night they venture from the sea to three

farms with goat yards. Gappers love to attach themselves to the goats which forces the children to brush them off every morning and throw them back into the sea. The smartest of the Gappers says instead of splitting up lets all go to the farm closest to the sea and we don't need to go as far. Young Capable, awakes to 3 times the usual amount of Gappers and her goats are in agony and won't give milk. Capable, however, is a real match for the Gappers and when options fall flat she takes matters into her own hands which changes the way Frip has lived for ages.
A smart little book with life lessons that are well known but could and should be shared with children and refreshed with adults.

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LibraryThing member jphamilton

This book seemed oddly familiar, but I felt that though it was more than fifteen years old, I needed it. It's a sweet package deal, I trippy little story that is combined with some great artwork. The artwork and size of this narrow and thin hardback book are special and the art is very nicely drawn.

LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26

In the tiny seaside village of Frip - three houses, ten people, and numerous goats - the residents find themselves beset by gappers, tiny burr-like creatures that attach themselves to the local goats and shriek with joy, eventually driving their caprine victims into a decline. The children of Frip

all spend their days ridding their goats of gappers, and throwing the pests into the sea, only to see them return the next day. Then one day, rather than attacking the goats belonging to all three of the village's families, they all attack young Capable and her father's tribe. The other two families, deciding that there must be a reason they have been more fortunate than their neighbors, refuse to help. When Capable gets rid of her goats, turning to fishing instead, and the gappers begin to target the other two families, will she likewise refuse to help...?

After the rave reviews from a number of friends and co-workers, I really expected to love The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip, but somehow, despite appreciating its social commentary in the abstract, I found it vaguely unsatisfying. Perhaps because the messages it seeks to communicate - humanity's lamentable tendency to look for reasons of character to explain differing levels of economic prosperity, rather than attributing much (or part) of one's social welfare to chance; the importance of not returning unjust behavior for unjust behavior - are delivered in such a ham-handed, obvious way, this short novella began to feel more like a vehicle than a true story to me. I felt, while reading, as if I should be finding the book funnier than I did. Humor is highly idiosyncratic, of course, so others will take it all in differently. However that may be, I did enjoy the idea of the book, and I found the illustrations by Lane Smith quite appealing, so I'm glad to have read it. Recommended to those who enjoy allegorical fiction, or who admire Lane Smith's artwork.

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LibraryThing member kcshankd

One of those sneaky kids books that may impart a real lesson if you pay attention. Now excuse me, I have to go fish...

LibraryThing member bragan

This is a kids' picture book written by acclaimed literary author George Saunders. Or maybe it's just a George Saunders story cleverly disguised as a kids' book, because while it's perfectly suitable for kids (or at least for ones with decent-sized vocabularies), it delighted this particular adult

as much as any of Saunders' stories ever has. It's hilarious and weird and sly and relevant, not to mention wonderfully illustrated, and I had a big grin on my face through pretty much the entire thing.

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LibraryThing member BraveNewBks

Short illustrated fable that reminds me a little of something Roald Dahl would have written. A bit silly on the surface, but a little dark and surprisingly profound underneath.

LibraryThing member livingtech

Fun illustrations and a semi-interesting story. Writing style is better than the story itself, I felt. Felt very British documentary, for some reason. I kept imagining it was read in a British accent.

LibraryThing member LoriFox

This adorable book can be enjoyed by both children and adults. With an inspirational message about the importance of compassion and helping one’s neighbors, along with its charming illustrations by Lane Smith, it is a delight to read.

LibraryThing member jennybeast

Hmm, well this is an odd, odd, little book -- more of a short story fairy tale than anything else, but the illustrations add to the work, and it's definitely worth the read for the pure pleasure of language in saying the very persistent gappers of Frip, and for talking about goats, and just in

general.

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