Three short stories depict the budding friendship between a lively elephant and a silent giraffe, beginning with their initial meeting in "The Water Hole," in which Elephant can't understand why Giraffe won't verbally respond to her friendly overtures. Once Elephant realizes that Giraffe's taciturnity is a species trait rather than a dismissal of her friendship-making efforts, the two bond. In "Pretzels," Giraffe decides to whip up some pretzels; Elephant's help turns the project into more of a culinary mess than a masterpiece, but the end result is tasty anyway. "The Bossy Pirate" finds Elephant so narrowly dictating the pair's pretend play that Giraffe gives up and reads a book instead, until Elephant acquiesces that each friend can choose a pretend identity. There's a slight Daniel Pinkwater-esque flavor to this matter-of-fact yet amusingly absurd narrative, and the brevity of Gude's text makes this accessible to young audiences while the simplicity of the vocabulary and the large, clear font also put this within range of novice readers. Shy children will particularly appreciate that Giraffe's quietness is presented as an acceptable facet of his personality rather than a problem to be fixed. Gude's childlike digital illustrations, with the blocky, rounded figures of Giraffe and Elephant outlined in black and smoothly filled with solid color, are a congenial partner to the unadorned text. Humorous details, such as Elephant's lavender and yellow, dinosaur-shaped swim ring and Giraffe's white chef's hat that adorably covers his ossicones, add to the fun. Pair these pals with Marshall's George and Martha for a funny, friendship-themed story session. JH—BCCB
This is a picture book that follows two unlikely friends. Elephant and Giraffe play many games throughout this story. The characters encounter problems that are realistic for young children, such as figuring out how to work together to enjoy a game of pirates. This book would be good for a child who likes to create their own games and enjoy them with their friends who may be very different. Although written at a kindergarten or first grade reading level, it can be enjoyed by children at a much younger age. Jessica Wilson, Pre-K Head Teacher, Head Start, Spring Valley, New York Recommended—Library Media Connection
This collection of three stories about a pair of friends with contrasting personalities is based on a series of online comics by newcomer Gude. He draws his elephant and giraffe costars with heavy black lines and presents their stories in the manner of a puppet show, with a backdrop of blue sky, anonymous greenery, and the occasional cloud. The brassy elephant wears her floaty toy to the water hole. "Can I swim, too?" she asks the giraffe, who's already in the water, but her overture falls flat as the giraffe stares back silently. She stalks off, hurt, but spends the night researching her mysterious acquaintance and discovers that the giraffe's silence is a species trait. "I read somewhere you don't make much noise," she says the next day. "So you don't need to say anything." It's a believable, even touching mix of condescension and affection. The other two stories-a pretzel-making disaster and a game of pretend-don't work quite as well, as the giraffe's silent, subtle mugging is outweighed by the elephant's bluster. Ages 3 5.—PW
PreS-Gr 2 Whether it's their first meeting at the water hole, baking pretzels, or playing make believe, a chatty elephant and a silent giraffe learn about the benefits of sharing, cooperating, and compromising. This book is divided into three short episodes, each with a funny twist, a subtle message, and just one or two sentences per spread. The stories stand alone but also contribute to the whole by showing the give-and-take of friendship. Gude's sense of visual and textual pacing and comedic timing is spot-on, as is his use of cinematic angles to bring attention to the reactions of the characters. The digital illustrations do a good job of conveying facial expressions and emotions, and their large size, bright colors, and thick outlines make the book great for sharing with a group. Not only will children find the activities here relatable, but they will also identify with the characters' childlike personalities. Read one or more of the tales out loud, or give this book to beginning readers to enjoy on their own. Similar to Mo Willems's "Elephant and Piggy" stories (Hyperion), this book is a first purchase. Amy Seto Musser, Denver Public Library—SLJ
Loquacious Elephant meets her match in taciturn Giraffe in this debut picture book. Gude's flat, cartoonish digital art depicts Elephant heading off for a swim in the first story, "The Water Hole." When she greets the giraffe and tries to start up a conversation with him and is met only with silence, Elephant is both baffled and offended. She walks off in a huff but then turns to a book (All About Giraffes) to try to understand why he snubbed her. She learns that giraffes "don't make much noise" and therefore accepts her new acquaintance's reticent nature. This opens the door for them not only to share the water hole together, but to bake in a story called "Pretzels" and to play dress up in a story called "The Bossy Pirate." Sly humor punctuates the stories, which inevitably center on conflict arising from the friends' very different personalities. At first blush, the picture book reads like an early reader in some ways, with its discrete, tightly paced stories and odd-couple characters, but the vocabulary isn't quite controlled enough to be accessible to independent emergent readers. A humorous picture book about two new, unlikely pals. (Picture book. 3-6)—Kirkus
When Elephant met Giraffe, one of them spoke . . . and one of them didn't. Elephant, the loquacious one, sees Giraffe at the swimming hole and immediately strikes up a conversation. When he realizes it's a oneway street, Elephant leaves in a huff, rubber float tight around his waist. After reading up on the giraffe species, he learns they're a quiet lot and is, therefore, happy to bob with Giraffe in silence. This is the first of three short chapters that compose the picture book-the remaining two are "Making Pretzels" (in which a mess is made) and "The Bossy Pirate" (one guess: Elephant). Gude's bold, cartoon-like Elephant and Giraffe navigate the tricky waters of friendship as they learn gentle lessons, including the art of compromise. Giraffe is, humorously, always breaking onto the page from the right-hand side, so all that's visible is his expressive face and long neck (frankly, he looks like rubber float himself). A nice entry into the world of pal-dom that should also work well as an early reader. - Ann Kelley—Booklist
02/01/2014
PreS-Gr 2—Whether it's their first meeting at the water hole, baking pretzels, or playing make believe, a chatty elephant and a silent giraffe learn about the benefits of sharing, cooperating, and compromising. This book is divided into three short episodes, each with a funny twist, a subtle message, and just one or two sentences per spread. The stories stand alone but also contribute to the whole by showing the give-and-take of friendship. Gude's sense of visual and textual pacing and comedic timing is spot-on, as is his use of cinematic angles to bring attention to the reactions of the characters. The digital illustrations do a good job of conveying facial expressions and emotions, and their large size, bright colors, and thick outlines make the book great for sharing with a group. Not only will children find the activities here relatable, but they will also identify with the characters' childlike personalities. Read one or more of the tales out loud, or give this book to beginning readers to enjoy on their own. Similar to Mo Willems's "Elephant and Piggy" stories (Hyperion), this book is a first purchase.—Amy Seto Musser, Denver Public Library
