The Short Giraffe - Hardcover

Flory, Neil

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0807573469 ISBN 13: 9780807573464

Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company, 2014

Synopsis

Geri is the shortest giraffe in the herd, which causes all kinds of problems when Boba the baboon tries to take a photo. Can Geri stretch up tall enough to be in the picture? Or are the other giraffes looking at things from the wrong perspective? A very sweet story for pre-schoolers about difference and acceptance.

About this title

About the Authors

Neil Flory is an art and creative director in the advertising industry. He lives in a suburb of Sydney, Australia.

Mark Cleary is a graphic designer, web designer, advertising art director, photographer and illustrator. He lives in Singapore.

From the Back Cover

When Geri the giraffe's short stature makes it difficult for him to pose in a group photo of the herd, the other giraffes change their perspective to solve the problem.

Reviews

PreS-Gr 1—Caution: due to humor escalation, this is not a bedtime story. When a blue baboon arrives to photograph the tallest animals in the world, a quintet of goofy and multihued giraffes prepares a pose. When the animals realize that a sixth member, Geri, "the shortest giraffe who ever lived," won't fit in the frame, ridiculous attempts to raise him ensue. From stilts to filling Geri with helium, the resulting crashes are captured by baboon's photos and given running commentary by a wee caterpillar that ultimately solves the problem. Cleary's soft-hued, gentle cartoonlike illustrations magnify the silliness.—Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA

For whatever reason, a baboon has shown up in the jungle to take a photo of the world’s tallest animals. The tall, skinny, pastel-colored giraffes are all set for their group portrait—but there’s a wee little problem. Geri, “the shortest giraffe who ever lived,” can’t get anything but her ears into the photo. Flory veers from what you might expect—a Rudolphlike shunning by the taller giraffes—to show the others trying their darnedest to boost Geri into the frame. They try stilts, stacking her on turtles, dangling her from branches, and filling her with helium. But everything results in the same thing: disastrous photos (the hilarious outtakes of which Cleary hangs across a two-page spread). It’s a lightweight premise powered by the same kind of goofballery that made Kelly Bingham’s Z Is for Moose (2012) so appealing. Flory’s prose is feathery and fun, and Cleary’s grinning-for-the-camera animals are all the more enjoyable for how they persevere through picture-day trials. We’ve all been there. Preschool-Grade 1. --Daniel Kraus

Edition details

• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807573469
• ISBN 13: 9780807573464
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Cleary Mark
• Number of pages: 24