Yours Sincerely, Giraffe
ISBN 9781927271889
Regular price $21.99 Sale price $13.50 Save 39%Written by Megumi Iwasa and illustrated by Jun Takabatake; Translated by Cathy Hirano
This international bestseller is an endearing illustrated chapter book about an African giraffe and his pen pal, a penguin.
Giraffe is bored, as usual. He'd love a friend to share things with. So he writes a letter and sends it as far as possible across the other side of the horizon. There he finds a pen pal—Penguin.
Giraffe knows nothing about penguins and his letters are full of questions. Where is a penguin's neck? Can a penguin fly? Penguin answers as best he can.
But no one expects what happens when the pen pals come face to face at last.
Yours Sincerely, Giraffe is a funny tale of mistaken assumptions and friendship from afar.
Recommended for young readers ages 6-9 years.
Hardcover, 104 pages. 8 x 5.7 inches.
Gecko Press.
Reviews
"An extremely bored giraffe becomes curious about what lies on the other side of the horizon and recruits a pelican to be his own personal courier. The pelican, equally bored and eager for new business, offers to travel anywhere and takes Giraffe's letter far across the ocean to Whale Sea. A correspondence begins between Giraffe and a penguin. As the pen pals discover more about what it's like on the other side of the horizon, each also ends up trying to solve the mystery of what the other animal looks like. The resulting letters and antics are humorous as the giraffe and the penguin imagine what life is like on opposite parts of the globe. This Japanese import will charm beginning readers who enjoy a bit of witty humor with their animal adventures. The pen-and-ink illustrations are simple yet have a Quentin Blake feel that rounds out the characters and their quirky behaviors. A highly amusing early chapter book for readers who may also be learning the art of letter writing."—School Library Journal
"Giraffe, bored and looking for a friend, becomes pen pals with Penguin in this illustrated chapter book. Even though Giraffe has nice weather and plenty to eat in his home in Africa, he is bored because he doesn't have 'an extra special friend.' A notice from an also-bored pelican offering 'to deliver anything anywhere' spurs Giraffe to write a letter introducing himself ('I'm famous for my long neck'), and he asks Pelican to deliver it to the first animal he meets on the 'other side of the horizon.' After a long flight, Pelican sees Seal. Seal delivers the letter to Penguin, since Penguin is 'the only animal . . . who got letters. . . . Most were from his girlfriend.' This original, playful story unfolds with perfect pacing as Giraffe and Penguin start a pen-pal correspondence. (Penguin, not sure what a neck is, writes back: 'I think maybe I don't have a neck. Or maybe I am all neck?') Giraffe and Pelican, reading Penguin's letters describing himself, are just as confused about what Penguin looks like. Hilarious deductive reasoning ensues. Young readers will love the silliness. Older readers (including adults) will relax in this gentle, judgment-free world of curiosity and discovery. Takabatake's fresh, unaffected line illustrations create a seamless collaboration of art and words. This is a rare book: joyful, ingenuous, playfully earnest, but without a whiff of studied cuteness."—Kirkus Reviews
"Giraffe should be content; he has plenty to eat and a comfortable home. But he's bored and wonders what lies over the horizon. Upon seeing Pelican's sign for his new delivery service, Giraffe gets the idea to write a letter to someone on the other side. He instructs Pelican to give the letter to the first animal he sees over the horizon, and so Penguin becomes the lucky recipient of Giraffe's note, courtesy of his local messenger seal. Letters go back and forth between Giraffe and Penguin, and Giraffe grows curious about what his correspondent looks like. Hilarity ensues as Giraffe and Pelican, neither of whom has ever seen a penguin, search the missives for clues so they can dress Giraffe to look like Penguin. When at last the pen pals meet, what a surprise awaits! But who cares how they look? Through their letters, a lasting friendship has developed between the animals. The combination of short narrative, dialogue, letters, and humorous penand- ink drawings is a winning one. For children who send or receive few letters, the book's a great introduction to letter writing, although this isn't its main purpose. Its gentle friendship story will leave readers feeling warm and fuzzy, making this early chapter book a great addition to any collection."—Booklist
Awards
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books — 2017 — Winner
Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year — 2018 — Winner
Kirkus Best Children's Books — 2017 — Winner
New York Public Library Best Books for Kids — 2017 — Winner
USBBY Outstanding International Books List — 2018 — Winner
Oink
ISBN 9781776572144
Regular price $21.99by David Elliot
A comical story about a very busy bath.
A comical story akin to Five Minutes' Peace about a very busy bath. Pig is having a lovely bath. In come Sheep, Cow, Horse....They are very noisy! What can Pig do to make them go away? Pig must think of something smart and quick.
Hardcover, 32 pages. 9.4 x 7.2 inches.
Recommended for children ages 2-5 years.
Gecko Press.
Reviews
"Can four animals share a bathtub? Not if the pig protagonist, who utters a satisfied 'Oink!" upon spotting the empty, large, white, claw-foot tub, has anything to say about it. No sooner is the pig in the water than: 'Knock! Knock!' A sheep in a frilly pink skirt enters: 'Maaa?' Is this a polite request to enter the bath? The pig doesn't answer but looks unhappy as the sheep climbs in and proceeds to splash. Another 'Knock! Knock!' and a large, horned bovine wearing a shower cap and long yellow trunks appears. The bovine says 'Moo?'; the sheep answers 'Maaa!'; the pig just glowers. How could things get worse? Well, a donkey in another outlandish bathing costume shows up with a 'Hee haw?' Soon the animal companions are talking up a storm, save for the poor pig—but in a completely wordless spread, the tables turn. With a few expressive pencil lines emanating from the water, Elliot finds a way for the pig to regain privacy. The surprised and then disgusted looks on the other animals' faces, their accusatory animal-sound questions, and then their huffy departures tell the story perfectly. The soft pencil-and-watercolor drawings are masterful in their simple details, and kids will enjoy telling the tale themselves, intoning the animal sounds in different ways to heighten the drama of the story. Told only in animal dialect and sound effects but with brilliant visual details, this story will become a bathtime favorite."—starred, Kirkus Reviews
"A little pig ('Oink!') climbs into a giant clawfoot bathtub and settles in for a soak, but then someone knocks at the bathroom door. A little sheep ('Maaa?') with a toy boat comes in. Another knock heralds the arrival of a large cow ('Moo?') with a beach ball and shower cap, and then a donkey arrives ('Hee haw?') with a life preserver. All the animals seem to take a more-the-merrier approach to bath time, except the pig, who looks comically more defeated with every page turn. Told only through small-scale art and the animal and door sounds, the story uses smart pacing and energetic line work with muted washes of color to draw out the droll humor throughout. The bath activity escalates, halting abruptly at every knock on the door, and then gets wilder still as the art takes up progressively more of the page. Just when the splashy bath scene becomes a real party, with the art expanding to fill full-bleed double-page spreads, some smelly fumes bubble up from the water. Covering their noses, the disgusted animals begin pointing hooves at one another and indignantly stalk off, one by one. Alone at last, the pig once again relaxes in the bath—and passes a little more gas for good measure. Classic bath-time antics!"—The Horn Book Magazine