Giraffes Can't Dance

by Giles Andreae, Guy Parker-Rees (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Gerald the giraffe may not be the best dancer, but he doesn’t let that stop him from busting out a move whenever he hears a song. Giles Andreae dazzles in this picture book that encourages kids to keep trying, even if they aren’t marching in tune with everyone else.

Gerald the giraffe longs to dance but his knees seem to buckle whenever he tries to twirl. Will he learn to sway to his own sweet tune? A gentle ode to dancing to the beat of your own drum — in board book!

Giraffes Can't Dance is a touching tale of Gerald the giraffe, who wants nothing more than to dance. With crooked knees and thin legs, it's harder for a giraffe than you would think. But with some words of encouragement from an unlikely friend, he might just find the courage to be himself on the dance floor.

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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545392556
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	03/01/2012
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	3,993
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Giles Andreae is the author of many top-selling, award-winning picture books. These include Free to Be Elephant Me, Rumble in the Jungle, Commotion in the Ocean, and I Love My Mummy. However, it is for the international bestseller Giraffes Can't Dance that he is best known. Giles lives with his wife, Victoria, a children's clothes designer, and their four children by the river in Oxfordshire, UK.
Guy Parker-Rees' exuberant and energetic illustrations have made him a household name and one of today's bestselling children's illustrators. Notable successes include the picture book classic Giraffes Can't Dance, a worldwide bestseller; Spooky Hour; and Free to Be Elephant Me. Guy lives in Brighton, UK, with his wife and three sons.

Editorial Reviews

"Andreae's rhyming text has a jaunty rhythm that's likely to spark interest in the read-aloud crowd." — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Gerald the Giraffe is a charming happy gent who has one aspiration -- to dance. The extra-tall giraffe is a bit wobbly in the knees, and his every attempt to boogie results with Gerald on the ground. It's time for the annual Jungle Dance, where all the creatures of the kingdom shake their respective tails. The lions dance the tango, and the chimps cha-cha-cha. As Gerald nears the dance circle, the animals snicker, "Hey, look at clumsy Gerald. Giraffes can't dance, you silly fool!" Sad and embarrassed, he retreats to his home. On the way, he bumps into a compassionate cricket who suggests that "Sometimes when you're different you just need a different song." So Gerald takes a new approach to dancing, as he listens to the wind in the trees and the swaying grass. And soon, with all the grace of a swan and the fancy moves of a pro, he dances for his jungle friends, who watch in astonishment.

This amazing tale offers keen advice and adorable illustrations under the guise of a simple picture book. Illustrator Guy Parker-Rees perfectly portrays Gerald's frustration and humiliation over his supposed inability to dance. And the scenes in which the other denizens of the forest cut a rug will have kids rolling in the aisle -- it's not every day that you see two warthogs waltzing! Author Giles Andrews mixes rhyming text and simple language to create a strong message about individuality and the power of dancing to the tune of a different drummer, a lesson that makes this glorious picture book perfect for children and adults.

bn.com

All the jungle's got the beat, but Gerald the giraffe has four left feet. Such is the dilemma in this British team's bouncy if didactic picture book about self-esteem. As a multitude of fleet-footed beasts eagerly "skip and prance" at the annual Jungle Dance in Africa, Gerald feels sad "because when it comes to dancing/ he was really very bad." Jeered by waltzing warthogs and cha-cha-ing chimps when he attempts to cut a rug, Gerald hangs his head and leaves the celebration behind. Luckily, a friendly cricket appears in the moonlight, chirping a morale-boosting song of self-confidence that soon sets Gerald in graceful motion. Andreae's rhyming text has a jaunty rhythm that's likely to spark interest in the read-aloud crowd, in spite of a heavy-handed message. Parker-Rees's kicky depictions of slightly anthropomorphic animals boogying on the dance floor are the highlight here. His watercolor and pen-and-ink artwork exudes a fun, party vibe. Ages 3-6. (Sept.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

PreS-K-A clumsy giraffe is instantly transformed into an exceptional dancer when he finds music that he loves. Gerald has tall, thin legs, which are good for standing still, but when he tries to run, his crooked knees buckle. At the annual Jungle Dance, he is laughed off the floor. A cricket tells him that "-sometimes when you're different you just need a different song." This advice enables the lonely creature to dance, much to the amazement of the other animals. The rhythmic text follows a pattern of four lines per stanza. Some rhyme and others do not. Some flow smoothly; others are forced. One line states that, "He threw his arms out sideways-." Huh! Giraffes don't have arms. Full-page color illustrations done in pen and ink and watercolor are bold and warm. Characters are whimsical and expressive, but they don't make up for the drastic and unbelievable turnaround that takes place upon hearing the cricket play his violin. For stories about individuality, stick with Helen Lester's Tacky the Penguin (1988) and Three Cheers for Tacky (1994, both Houghton) or Robert Kraus's Leo the Late Bloomer (HarperCollins, 1971) and Owliver (Prentice-Hall, 1974; o.p.).-Kathleen Simonetta, Indian Trails Public Library District, Wheeling, IL Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Andreae's ode to a different drummer stumbles when it preaches about uncovering your own beat, but is ferried along by enough sweet verse and Parker-Rees's dazzling colors that it almost pulls its own weight. Gerald the giraffe's legs are too spindly for dancing; they are always buckling at the knees when it comes to the old soft-shoe. And while all the other creatures show some mean moves at the Jungle Dance ("The chimps all did a cha-cha / with a very Latin feel, / and eight baboons then teamed up / for a special Scottish reel"), poor Gerald is hooted off the dance floor before he even has a chance to crumple. As he shuffles homeward, and as he stops to admire the moon, a cricket suggests that "you just need a different song." So, to the sound of the wind in the trees, Gerald starts to move: a gentle swaying, some circling, and some swishing. Suddenly he commences to belt out Olympic-quality gymnastic moves-"Then he did a backward somersault / and leapt up in the air"-that blows the other animals away. But probably not readers, even the youngest of whom will want to know just why Gerald's legs didn't buckle this time, special music or not. Bad enough that in a story about rhythm, the verse doesn't always scan-but must Gerald strike the Travolta pose? Gerald doesn't find himself; he simply learns how to mimic. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews

What is Gerald the giraffe good at? In his eyes, all the other African animals possess special talents, especially on the dance floor. Gerald is most dejected as the annual dance exhibition begins. Luckily, a cricket’s voice catches Gerald's ear. Billy Dee Williams narrates enthusiastically while letting the rhyme and rhythm take center stage. The musical accompaniment is lively, even before the dance starts. As animals exhibit their specialties, the orchestra keeps pace—from a waltz for the warthogs to the cha-cha for the chimps and even a Scottish reel for the apes. A.R. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

DEC 07/JAN 08 - AudioFile