How Giraffe Got Such a Long Neck: ..And Why Rhino is so Grumpy

by Michael Rosen

Illustrated with bright, cut-paper collages, an East African folktale explains how Giraffe and Rhino lived happily on the grassy plains, until the grass dried up and Rhino came up with an idea that changed their lives.

Genres: Picture Books, Folklore, Animals, Childrens, Africa

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Michael Rosen, a recent British Children’s Laureate, has written many acclaimed books for children, including WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, and I’M NUMBER ONE and THIS IS OUR HOUSE, both illustrated by Bob Graham. Michael Rosen lives in London.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Doria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific book!! Clear colorful illustrations, well written but spare prose style encapsulates this charming pourquoi story, and to top it off, the author clearly and thoroughly gave source attributions for the folktale, a real boon to Storytellers and folklorists. I wish more picture books were like this one!

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story and musing along with the author about how Giraffe may have gotten her long neck! It presented an opportunity for me to explore folklore, and explain the concept to my grandchildren.

[Natalie Samuels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Folk tale, animal realism
Used to teach about character traits and emotions

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite "How" stories. Giraffe used to be more like a deer. During a dry season he and his friend, the rhinoceros, went to see man for help. Man asked them to return tomorrow and he will have a remedy. The following day rhinoceros forgot all about it. Giraffe was provided the magic herb, which he ate when he realized rhinoceros wasn't coming. Giraffe received all the magic and grew to be able to eat the tops of the trees. Rhinoceros ended up being cross with himself, man, and giraffe.

The illustrators are equally as impressive as the text.
****
It's been awhile since I've used this in the classroom. Today to provide a little boost to the students for their myth writings I read this. They liked it.
****
When I read this today, I was a bit wistful for the beginning of my career. I used to have time to teach units that were not prescribed by district curriculum. That opened up the How & Why unit I developed, which was always a highlight.

Anyhow, the students loved this story. The illustrations are wonderful. This book is a good book in every sense.

[Jamal Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover of the book is blue overall. The title is in red. There's a giraffe and a rhino on the cover. The author and illustrator's name is on the cover. There's a description of the book on the inside before the introduction page.

This book is about how the Giraffe got his long neck and why the Rhino is so mad or grumpy. The Giraffe and Rhino pretty much took some herbs from a man. However the Giraffe eats both. The rhino gets grumpy because of this. They needed this because they needed to reach the leaves so the Giraffe got a long neck.

[Rathen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say i think the title could be much shorter than it is. In my opinion it needs to bee something that is short and catchy, something people will remember. It is a good book though and one that i feel most would enjoy. Kids will like the pictures.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this to my fairy Tale Story Time group.