This story is about a young Asian girl trying her hardest to get to the town of Kapuskasing, which I found is actually a town in Canada. She starts out by taking her bike, however, every time she sets out her father stops her before she can get to the city. The story is nice and uses repetition as a story element which is good for younger groups. The illustrations are also very vibrant with a multitude of colors on each page. ( )

A young Chinese-Canadian girl wants to visit the nearby town of Kapuskasing more than anything, but her father will have none of it. Her attempts to get there, first by bicycle, then by roller-blade, are foiled by her attentive parent. Then she visits the library for story-time, is given three hundred balloons by the clown/storyteller, and floats off to her destination...

Where is Gah-Ning? is the twelfth picture-book I have read from Canadian author Robert Munsch, but the first not to be illustrated by his long-time collaborator, Michael Martchenko. I was curious to see what I would make of Hélène Desputeaux's artwork, given how well I think Martchenko's illustrations complement Munsch's stories, and overall I was favorably impressed. I found the visuals here colorful and appealing. That said, somehow I wasn't quite won over by the story, even though I appreciated the detailed afterword explaining how it originated from Munsch's interaction with the real Gah-Ning. Perhaps because it was more text-heavy than many of the author's other books, it felt denser, less amusing? I'm really not sure. Still, I would imagine that some readers will find it entertaining, particularly if they are looking for stories about feisty, willful young girls. ( )

I also had mixed feelings about this book. In the beginning of the book the author Robert Munsch explains where he got this story from and why he wrote it, which I thought was very creative and unique. I liked that part of the book a lot because it gives the readers a background of what they are going to be reading. The illustrations of the book have to be my favorite part. I loved the illustrations so much because there was so much color and the expressions on the characters were very well thought out/ visible to the reader. The illustrations helped me imagine everything that was going on in the book, at times when the story got confusing I would be able to look at the illustrations to help me figure out what was happening. The writing style of this book was very descriptive but some times in the book there was a lot going on at once and I would easily get confused. The plot was a little disorganized and I didn't really know how the characters got from one place to another. I dont think that there was really much of a moral to the story other than to listen to you r parents so you wont get in trouble, again I was a little confused reading it.

This is a story of a strong willed little girl, Gah-ning, who wants to go to Kapuskasing, a mall, but her father says NO. Even though she is told no, she hops on her bike and heads to the mall. Her father ends up having to go get her several times, each time he finds her on a different type of transportation.

This story was great for me to read because I have strong willed kids. I felt for this father because the word "no" has no meaning to my kids either. And just because I said they could not ride their bike to the mall, it did not mean they could not skate to the mall, just like Gah-Ning. I also loved the bright colors that the illustrator used. Children who are very young would like the book just for the colors!

I would read this book to my students when we might be talking about rules and following them or about different ways to get somewhere. I might have them draw maps from their house to the school and tell me different ways that they get to school; bus, car, walk.

Gah-Ning really wants to go to Kapuskasing, but her father doesn't want her to. She tries multiple ways to get there, and eventually succeeds. Lots of good repetition, marvelous illustrations, it's a Chinese-Canadian family in Canada. The child is successfully disobedient, which may bother some people, but except on the cover she appropriately wears protective gear. ( )