Children's booksChildren's booksTop 10 giraffes in children's books
This long necked, black tongued, most appealingly strange animal pops up in all types of children's books. Here Dianne Hofmeyr, author of Zeraffa Giraffa shares her top 10 best books about giraffesThe first giraffe ever to set hoof in France nearly 200 years ago, confounded everyone with its strangeness. Was it a horned camel? A tall horse? Or a spotted zebra?
Today it's still that very strangeness that appeals. The graceful, slow walk or lolloping gallop of a giraffe across the plains of Africa, the long neck swaying like an exotic plant above the treeline, yet its stoop to drink water so oddly bizarre, the curious stare when approached, the impossibly long eyelashes, the incredibly black tongue all make it the most appealing of animals. It's not surprising then that giraffes pop up everywhere in picture books as the animal who struggles to dance, who gets its neck in knot, who is too tall for group photographs but is the very best star-counter and window-washer. This list of books draws on the qualities that make the giraffe a favourite for children who are beginning to understand that we are all different, but to be different can be an advantage.
1. Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees
Poor Gerald longs to dance, but his legs are too skinny and his neck too long. At the Jungle Dance, the chimps cha-cha, warthogs waltz, rhinos rock 'n roll and lion dances a tango that is elegantly bold but not Gerald – until one little creature who believes in him, helps him find his own true style. Colourful illustrations with a lovely blue-shadowed rendering of dancing by firelight.
2. Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl superbly illustrated by Quentin Blake
We join Billy in the remarkable and entertaining adventures of the Ladderless Window-Cleaning Company – a giraffe with a stretchy neck who eats only pink and purple flowers from the tinkle-tinkle tree, a pelican with a tremendous water-carrying beak and a very agile monkey. Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake at their most rollicking, tremendous best.
3. Abigail by Catherine Rayner
Abigail the giraffe, loves to count but is bedazzled by the stripes of the zebras and the splotches of the cheetah and utterly fails to count all their spots and stripes. But then she discovers there is one thing she is good at counting because of her very long neck – the stars. Beautifully illustrated across spreads that suggest the wide savannah and the large open night skies of Africa and where the size of Abigail is emphasised by having her half disappear off the page. Lovely splotchy end pages too.
4. Oh Dear Geoffrey by Gemma O'Neil
Geoffrey is a giraffe, keen to make friends but when he bends down low to say hello to the tiny meerkats (my best illustration in the book) he stumbles. And when he tries to make friends at the watering hole, he slips and slides. Fed up with being clumsy and unappreciated, Geoffrey is finally able to find friends between the leaves of a tall tree with the monkeys and birds, who also love tall trees where "You can reach as high as the sky… and see as far as the stars!"
5. The Lonely Giraffe by Peter Blight, illustrated by Michael Terry
Published in 2005, has a similar theme of giraffe feeling left out. With his long neck stretching high into the trees, he's too far away from the action. The other animals on the jungle floor can barely hear him speaking. And up in the trees, giraffe startles the monkeys and birds with his big face suddenly appearing so high off the ground. But when the river bursts its banks, only the monkeys and the birds can climb or fly to safety. Now giraffe with his long legs comes to the fore.
6. A Very Strange Creature by Ronda Armitage, illustrated by Layn Marlow.
A giraffe isn't the main subject of the title, but it plays an important part in the story. When Monkey finds a strange creature in the jungle he's very puzzled and calls the other animals to help. It doesn't have a tail for swinging, a trunk for washing, a long neck for reaching the high trees or even webbed feet for swimming. Whatever could it be? Wonderfully bold, "jungley" illustrations. I'm amazed at how many picture books place savannah animals in the heart of a "jungle"… but it's fiction after all. This book was winner of the 2013 Coventry Inspiration Book Awards, Never Too Young category.
7. Giraffe's Big Night Out by Carrie and David Grant, illustrated by Ailie Bushby
A paperback with CD. Giraffe is over the moon. She has been chosen to sing in the opera. But before the big concert she wakes hoarse. Will her voice make a miraculous recovery before the performance? The book and CD are part of the Jump Up and Join series that Carrie and David Grant have designed to get children singing and joining in, in no time. Lively, bright and full of fun.
8. Boo Boo Baby and the Giraffe by Eileen Browne illustrated by Emily Bolam
It's bedtime and Boo Boo Baby and giraffe are setting off on a journey together. As Boo Boo Baby bounces from animal to animal, she's scared by rhino and begins to cry. The animals manage to settle and comfort her. Bold illustration, rhyming text and a sweet central character help younger children identify. Designed on toddler-tough card with rounded edges.
9. Sophie La Giraffe and Friends published by Dorling Kindersley
Most French children as well as many English children will have owned a Sophie sometime in their life. Sophie is that soft, rubbery giraffe loved by teething babies. I like to believe her creation was the result of the first giraffe France ever saw. The board book story of Sophie and her five special friends with soft gentle illustrations, is a natural transition from toy to story that can be shared by mother and child at bedtime.
10. Zarafa by Michael Allin
No list of books on giraffes would be complete without this one for much older readers that tells the story of the giraffe that my picture book Zeraffa Giraffa, is based on. Captured in the Sudan and sent by the Pasha, Muhammed Ali, as a diplomatic gift to the King of France, she was only the second giraffe to have been seen in Europe. The book is full of fascinating detail and describes the giraffe mania that took hold of Paris where women coiled their hair so high in an attempt to emulate the giraffe that they had to lie down in their carriages.
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