Giraffes Can't Dance: Number Rumba - Hardcover

Andreae, Giles

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0545639964 ISBN 13: 9780545639965

Publisher: Cartwheel Books, 2014

Synopsis

The bestselling animals from GIRAFFES CAN'T DANCE are back and ready to count to the beat in this brand-new numbers book with large tabs!

The dancing--and counting--never stops with lovable Gerald the giraffe and all his high-stepping friends! Everyone's favorite animals from GIRAFFES CAN'T DANCE are back and ready to help little ones learn the counting craze that's sweeping the nation...the Number Rumba!

With large, tabbed pages and catchy number rhymes, readers will be able to count from one to ten with the greatest of ease. It's the perfect laugh-out-loud counting companion to GIRAFFES CAN'T DANCE!

About this title

Review:

Gerald the giraffe doesn't really have delusions of grandeur. He just wants to dance. But his knees are crooked and his legs are thin, and all the other animals mock him when he approaches the dance floor at the annual Jungle Dance. "Hey, look at clumsy Gerald," they sneer. "Oh, Gerald, you're so weird." Poor Gerald slinks away as the chimps cha-cha, rhinos rock 'n' roll, and warthogs waltz. But an encouraging word from an unlikely source shows this glum giraffe that those who are different "just need a different song," and soon he is prancing and sashaying and boogying to moon music (with a cricket accompanist). In the vein of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Gerald's fickle "friends" quickly decide he's worthy of their attention again.

With this rhyming, poignant (in a cartoonish way) tale, Giles Andreae, author of Rumble in the Jungle, and numerous other picture books, shows insecure young readers that everyone can be wonderful, even those that march to the beat of a different cricket. The rhymes are somewhat awkward, but the bold, bright watercolors by Guy Parker-Rees will invite readers to kick up their heels and find their own internal harmony. (Ages 3 to 6) --Emilie Coulter

From the Inside Flap:

Gerald the giraffe longs to dance, but his legs are too skinny and his neck is too long. His knees buckle whenever he tries to twirl. At the Jungle Dance, the warthogs waltz, the chimps cha-cha, and the lions tango. "Giraffes can't dance", they all jeer when it's Gerald's turn to prance.

Fortunately, there is one little creature who believes in Gerald. "Everything makes music", says the cricket, "if you really want it to". So Gerald starts swaying to his own sweet tune.

With light-footed rhymes and high-stepping illustrations, this tale is gentle inspiration for every child with dreams of greatness.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cartwheel Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0545639964
• ISBN 13: 9780545639965
• Binding: Board book
• Number of pages: 12
• Illustrator: Parker-Rees Guy