Viele Grüße, Deine Giraffe!

by Megumi Iwasa, Jörg Mühle (Illustrator)

Giraffe wohnt in der afrikanischen Savanne. Ihre Tage verlaufen eintönig und sie sehnt sich nach einem Freund. Also beschließt sie, einen Brief zu schreiben: »Du sollst ihn dem ersten Tier übergeben, das dir hinter dem Horizont begegnet«, sagt sie zu Pelikan, der gerade (ebenfalls aus Langeweile) einen Postdienst eröffnet hat.

Und so findet der Brief seinen Weg zu Pinguin, der weit entfernt in der Walsee lebt. Eine echte Brieffreundschaft entsteht. Eines Tages beschließt Giraffe, ihren Brieffreund zu besuchen – und zwar als Pinguin verkleidet. Gar nicht so einfach, wenn man eine Giraffe ist!
Megumi Iwasa ist ein fabelhafter kleiner Briefroman gelungen, der sich perfekt zum ersten Selberlesen eignet und seit Jahren Schullektüre in Japan ist. Jörg Mühle hat ihn so illustriert, wie Giraffe und Pinguin sich das gewünscht hätten.

Genres: Animals, Childrens, Friendship, Fiction, Middle Grade, Chapter Books, Humor

112 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2011

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amusing and whimsical tale with a wonderful message promoting friendship, acceptance, and having the courage to try something new. Short enough to read all at once, but also fun to draw out over several bedtime readings to heighten the suspense and stimulate imagination and conversation.

[Justkeepreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley, Myrick Marketing &a Media Ltd, Gecko Press and Megumi Iwasa forthe opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance reader copy of this book.

You can find my review on both Goodreads and Amazon. On Goodreads from today under Karen Whittard and on Amazon under k.e.whittard from publication date.

I read this book with
my niece and nephews and we quite enjoyed it. We thought the parts where giraffe dressed up as what he thought penguin looked like were rather funny.

This is a book about a lonely Giraffe who one day decides to write a letter to see what is on the other side of the horizon. Giraffe sees an advertisement that lonely pelican has set up a delivery service and so giraffe asks pelican to deliver the letter to the first animal he sees on the other side of the horizon.

The letters end up in the hands of penguin the only person. On whale island who receives letters and together they become pen pals.

This book teaches children about loneliness, courage, hope, descovery, imagination, and friendship. It is perfect for children ages between 5-8. The pictures in the book are rather sweet too.

All in all a very sweet children's book.

Happy reading everyone

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a to-read list that has enough books on it to keep me busy for 4-5 years, so I try to steel myself against adding more books unless they are the next one in a series that I am already invested in, or I come across a great review that intrigues me enough to break through my resistance. Such was the case with this book.

Giraffes are my favorite animals. Last time I visited Brookfield Zoo in Chicago I spent many happy minutes watching giraffes eating and walking. So, when I read a great review and saw that the main character is a giraffe, and discovered that my local Library had an available copy that I could put on hold and get by curbside delivery, I decided to go for it!

I don't have any little ones at home to read to, so I read it to my own inner child and found the story truly enchanting. I loved having pen pals in other countries through a program at my school when I was a child, so the idea of giraffe becoming pen pals with penguin was delightful.

The interactions between the various animals in the tale are charming and fun. I laughed out loud at the explanation of how Professor Whale became the teacher! It reminded me very much of my own children's logic from when they were young.

What a lovely time I spent reading this tale on a quiet Sunday afternoon. It was both profoundly moving and very funny.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, gentle and enjoyable. It just didn’t resonate with me as much as I’d hoped it would. That said, I appreciate that it shows how letters and written exchanges can build friendships—I can certainly attest to this, having “met” many wonderful people through pen-pal letters when I was young — and through online sites like GoodReads as an adult. It also has a really humorous and thought-provoking segment on perspective as Giraffe tries to imagine what Penguin looks like just piecing together from his letters and never actually having seen a penguin before.

[Bilal Y. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Son zamanlarda okuduğum çocuk kitaplarında çıtayı biraz aşağı çekmiştim. Bu eser tercihimi yeniden gözden geçirmeme neden oldu.

Yalnızlıktan sıkılan ve ufuğa bakmaktan sürekli boynu uzayan zürafa, yine canı sıkılan ve bu nedenle posta olmak isteyen pelikan sayesinde uzaklarda bir yerde sıkılan penguenle mektup arkadaşı olurlar.

Penguenle zürafanın mektupları keyifliydi. Görünüşlerini birbirine anlatırken şaşırırlar. Misal, penguen daha önce duymadığı için boyun diye bir şeyin varlığına pek şaşırır. Bu arada penguenin, tamamı kafa olan ve bundan dolayı da zeka küpü olan balinaya zeki olduğunu gösterme çabaları da hayli komik...

[shubiektywnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

CUDOWNE! Prosta, ciepła historia o przyjaźni. Autorka ujęła tę relację w taki sposób, że dzieci wyciągną z niej to, co najważniejsze pod względem emocjonalnym, a dorosły będzie mógł dopowiedzieć coś od siebie.

Dodatkowo w książce pojawiają się pytania do małego czytelnika, które pozwalają bardziej zaangażować się w lekturę - cudo!

Aż się nie mogę doczekać chwili, kiedy będę mogła przeczytać tę książkę z moim dzieckiem 🥹❤️

[Justyna Sk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Urocza książeczka 😍

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't really into this book until Giraffe started trying to understand what Penguin looked like based on the descriptions in his letters. Black and white, no neck or all neck, feathers, small wings, and a beak are the descriptors that Giraffe and Pelican use to build Giraffe a penguin costume. I had to laugh out loud when I saw the end result. This book is definitely different in tone and style than I am used to, but it's sweet and amusing, even laugh-out-loud funny at some points. The whole story begins when Giraffe, who is bored, decides to write a letter for Pelican (who starts a delivery service because he is bored) to deliver over the horizon. Pelican finds Seal who delivers the letter to Penguin, who gets all the mail in the Whale Sea. While the concept of sending and receiving mail might be a little more old-fashioned than a lot of kids are used to, this is a great way to introduce them to the delights of receiving mail, and one way to overcome boredom. Delightful, easy read that is sure to make most children (and adults) smile.

[Katie Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really fun little book about a lonely giraffe and a lonely penguin who become pen pals. This had a great quirky quality to it... Penguin left his family to study with Professor Whale, the oldest wisest animal, for example. A great early chapter book about loneliness, friendship, letter-writing and understanding differences. Loved the line drawings included throughout as well.

[Adele Broadbent · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 by pelican who has begun a delivery service. When Pelican finally returns, he tells Giraffe just how far the horizon is! But he does have a letter for Giraffe. Giraffe is so exited at receiving his first ever letter. It's from someone called Penguin, and with Pelican's help they soon become pen pals.

Giraffe knows nothing about penguins and his letters are full of questions. What does a penguin look like? Where is a penguin’s neck? And so the letters begin to fly from horizon to horizon.

Gecko Press have found another gem - this time from Japan. This is a simple, funny story about friendship from afar. Receiving letters and having a pen pal are a lost treat in our digital world. This story shows how fun it can be!  

[Luna's Little Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yours sincerely, Giraffe was a lovely book to read. I’d happily recommend, not just for the intended audience but anybody who’d like a sweet story about friendship. It’s also a book that I think also works well if your reading it aloud.

Giraffe is bored and decides to use the letter service by the also bored Pelican in search of a pen pal. Thus given both of them something to look forward to. The story is about Giraffe and Penguin’s friendship, how their correspondence impacts the animals around them and the question: “How do you imagine someone you’ve never meet?”

It is an endearing read, with simple but effective illustrations – both working together to make a charming and captivating story.

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely chapter book for a read aloud. Delightful story about finding friendship when you’re bored and decide to try something together

[aqilahreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

a cute book about stepping out of your comfort zone when it comes to making friends 🥺

[Rahel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Das ist mein absolutes Lieblingsbuch für Erstleser*innen. Ich habe noch nie so eine liebe Geschichte gelesen in meinem Leben und wünsche mir dringend so prima Brieffreund*innen wie Pinguin und Giraffe.

[Kati · Rating 5 out of 5]

So süß lol

[Pola Kropielnicka · Rating 4 out of 5]

urocze

[Jenna (Falling Letters) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally published 7 January 2018 at Falling Letters.

I came across this wonderful little book while browsing new children’s books at the library. The discovery made me fondly recall those days when library browsing was my primary way of finding hidden gems and growing my TBR… Anyway! I enjoyed everything about this book.

Giraffe, feeling bored, writes a letter to which he instructs Pelican to deliver as far away as possible. Giraffe’s letter ends up in the hands (flippers?) of Penguin. The two exchange letters in which they try to figure out what the other looks like, culminating in a humorous meeting. In addition to Giraffe and Penguin, there are cute supporting characters like Whale and Pelican, who have their own independent motives and personalities.

“Pelican was a little nervous. After all, this was his first customer.” (p. 15)

“There were two reasons that Professor Whale was a teacher. Because he was extraordinarily big and because he was extraordinarily old. In other words, because he was, quite simply, extraordinary.

And he was especially extraordinary at spouting. No one could spout like him.” (p. 34)

This book is for young readers and doesn’t have a lot of text. The writing is simple yet creative. Though this is primarily a funny story, there are one or two poignant moments contained within. The doodle-like illustrations enhance the story’s mood.

The Bottom Line: Yours Sincerely, Giraffe is the kind of creatively clever story that can delight young and old readers alike.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, sincere, sweet, and just a little silly. This is a charming story of expanding one's experiences and the pitfalls of communication, as a giraffe (plus friends) and a penguin (plus friends) try to learn what the other is like through an exchange of letters. It's hard to imagine someone you've never seen, says the book's back flap. Especially when it's things like a penguin and a whale trying to figure out what a neck is. My five-year-old loves it.

My favorite (and the longest) letter:

Dear Giraffe,

Thank you for your letter. You asked what I look like, but looking is a very odd thing.

At the moment I live on Whale Point, which is surrounded by sea, just like my home on Penguin Island. In the daytime, when the sun shines, the sea looks blue. But in the morning and the evening it looks completely different. And at night, it's different again.

And that's not all. No matter whether the sea looks blue or green or orange, when I scoop up a bucketful the water becomes transparent. Isn't that strange?

Perhaps it isn't looking that's strange, but the sea itself.

Or maybe it's the bucket.

But you asked what I look like. I think I am mostly black and white. Even when I climbed into a bucket, my feathers did not change. So I think that must be right.

Yours sincerely,
Penguin at Whale Point

P.S. I think you and I would get along. I'm looking forward to your next letter.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giraffe is bored and he’s just missing one thing: a best friend. So when he sees Pelican, who is also bored, offering a mail service, he decides to write a letter. He asks Pelican to deliver it to the first animal he sees past the horizon. Pelican sees that the horizon looks very close, so he agrees. Pelican meets a seal who also delivers mail and sends the letter on to the next animal, which happens to be a Penguin. Giraffe and Penguin become pen pals and steadily become good friends. Soon Giraffe is trying to figure out what Penguin looks like from afar, but doesn’t get it quite right.

First published in Japan, this book is a very friendly chapter book with plenty of illustrations to break the text into manageable chunks. There is a warm playfulness throughout the book, inviting readers to see the humor in boredom and the solution of taking some sort of action to break through the tedium. The characters are well drawn and interesting, each with a unique personality that plays through naturally in the book.

The illustrations by Takabatake are done in fine lined black ink. They have a cartoon feel that embraces the light tone of the book. The illustrations work well with the text, creating action on the page that is very appealing.

A light and warm look at boredom and friendship that is a great read aloud. Appropriate for ages 6-8.

[Christine Hwang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute, pen pal story! Explains the importance of descriptive writing and of compassion and understand when things don't turn out the way you expect.

[D. Dorka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hát ez nagyon cuki és szép volt! :) Az eredeti címben a zsiráf van benne, úgyhogy nehezemre esett megtalálni a többi könyves platformon, de a történetet megismerve mindkét cím érthető. Azt egy kicsit furcsállom, hogy nem az eredeti illusztrációval jelent meg, hanem a némettel, de ettől még nagyon aranyos. Én valami ilyesmi történetet vártam a Charlie Mackesy: A Kisfiú, a Vakond, a Róka és a Ló könyvtől is, ami kissé csalódás volt végül is. Viszont ez a könyv meg annál nagyobbb meglepetés. Végtelenül aranyos, ahogy barátok lesznek a zsiráf, pingvin, pelikán és fóka. Nagyon kedves, ahogy pár információból zsiráf megpróbál pingvinnek öltözni, felhasználva afrikai ismereteit. Meg hát a nyakról mint olyanról való „értekezés” is nagy kedvenc lett. Persze már megint évekkel le vagyok csúszva a megszerzéséről, de hátha majd egyszer. Érdemes olvasni, és újra-újraolvasni.

[Zahra Labbafan · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب رو خواهرم برای کلاس کتابخوانی پسر نه ساله اش خریده و وقتی خوندمش و به تمرین های آخرش که توصیه برای معلم ها بود رسیدم دلم خواست دانش آموز یکی از این کلاس ها بودم و کلی بحث شیرین در موردش با بقیه داشتم.

صبحت از یک کتاب بعد از خوندش با کسی که کتاب رو خونده خیلی لذت بخشه.
تو زمان بچگی من شاید دو سه کتاب بود که تقریبا اکثریت خونده بودند و می تونستیم تو مدرسه در موردش حرف بزنیم مثل هری پاتر.

هم دلم برای خودم سوخت که این همه سال کسی رو نداشتم باهاش در مورد کتاب ها صحبت کنم، البته باز خداروشکر من چندتا دوست کتابخوان دورم جمع کرده بودم.
هم خیلی خوشحالم که الان چنین کلاس هایی خیلی بیشتر از قبل وجود داره.


کتاب رو محبوبه نجف خانی ترجمه و نشر ایران بان هم چاپ کرده.

[kraksa_inc · Rating 4 out of 5]

O żyrafie, co robi cosplay pingwina

[Jami Bennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I delight in fun books for my kids. Yours Sincerely, Giraffe, was one of those. Megumi Iwasa, author, has done a wonderful job integrating words that are intelligent yet speak to a child's mind. Reading along to my three-year-old son was very engaging, and even at his age, he could understand what was going on in the story.

The storyline brought him in so much that he wanted to "read" it to me as well. He built on the giraffe's story, using the pictures to guide him. It was a very pleasant reading experience for both my son and me.

The illustrations by Jun Takabatake were adorable and felt childlike. They were so cute, and there were just enough of them to add to the story and keep my son's interest as I read to him.

I would highly recommend this story about a giraffe's adventures to find a pen pal. Along the way, Giraffe found friends and acquaintances that made his boring life interesting and colorful.

This book would serve as a great read-along to young preschoolers (read little bits at a time, of course) and would be appropriate for second graders to read with help.

We thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I think your young readers would, too.

http://www.jamiswords.com/review-of-y...

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giraffe in Africa is bored. His friend Pelican has started up a mail service to give him something to do. Giraffe writes a letter to whomever is over the horizon. That turns out to be Penguin. Little does Pelican know how busy Giraffe and Penguin are going to keep him. The beginning of the book is slow, but keep going, it gets better and funnier. Penguin and Giraffe write letters back and forth getting to know each other with Giraffe trying to figure out what Penguin looks like. As he tries to dress up to look like penguin based on information from the letters, he looks funnier and funnier. Off he floats to Whale Island to meet his penpal looking nothing like a penguin. This is a great book to use with students in late primary or early junior classes when you are teaching them about letter writing. It would be great to set up a penpal program with other children from your own city or around the world. A good mentor text written in short chapter format with black and white illustrations. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute idea and funny to boot! Giraffe is bored on the savanna one day, and sees an advertisement from a bored Pelican that the latter will deliver letters anywhere just for fun! So Giraffe decides to write a letter and send Pelican to deliver it to the first creature he finds over the horizon. Pelican first meets a Seal but Seal is also in the mail business so he passes it along to....Penguin. Penguin and Giraffe set up a pen-pal-ship and Penguin starts off by trying to explain what he looks like. Giraffe takes those details (two small feet, two small wings, black and white, and either all neck or no neck) and makes himself a penguin costume. When Giraffe gets the opportunity to travel to meet Penguin he wears his costume...to hilarious result! Naturally, he looks nothing like a penguin. But an instant friendship is born! (I did feel, however, that the story could have ended there and that the last chapter was a bit haphazard and unnecessary. It could have just been left open for sequels!)

[Andrew Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully simple book with enchantingly basic illustrations that will inspire any child to write letters or find a pen-pal. Somewhere in Africa, Giraffe is lonely - and so is Pelican - so the former decides to write a letter to the animal he can't see 'beyond the horizon' and Pelican agrees to deliver it there. The friendship between Giraffe and Penguin, Pelican and Seal and Whale, tells a deeper tale of social harmony and understanding of diversity, whilst there is also an undercurrent of finding your role or meaning in life in something that brings you and others happiness. There are also implications for how we interpret things we read, and how we view others from what we know of them: often our impressions are far from accurate until we really get to know someone! The book concludes with an offer to the young reader to write back to Whale: a wonderful lesson-starter for children in a classroom or beyond. If anyone needs encouraging to put pen to paper (or type font into an e-mail...), then this uplifting tale is surely likely to inspire them to.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a weird book. I think it is probably just as weird in the original Japanese.

This is the story of a bored giraffe who writes a letter to whomever is on the horizon. That whomever turns out to be Penguin.

The whole book is them writing short letters back and forth, the way penpals used to do. Simple questions, such as what do you look like are asked back and forth. Giraffe tries to piece together, from all the letters, what it is penguin looks like, so he can dress up like him, and go meet him.

And yes, the giraffe dresses the way he thinks Penguin must look like, with no neck, and black and white stripes, like a zebra, and two little wings, and floats off to Whale Island to meet him.

And that is the story. It is a little amusing, so kids might like it, but I found, like Giraffe, I was a bit bored with the beginning, and almost didn't read much further.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review

[Amelia Shepherd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful story, perfect during the current quarantine period, where a lonely Giraffe reaches out through letter writing to find a pen pal across the horizon, delivered via a pelican and seal, letters go back and forth between Giraffe and Penguin.

I really enjoyed reading this book myself, it was a perfect light read for those transitioning to a longer read, I’d say most suitable for year 2 – 4. There are many lessons that can be built around the story including letter writing, descriptions, getting to know someone, cultural differences(?) and different environments.

There is some hidden humour in this book, and it’s lovely the way it has been showcased – a book once I’d started, I couldn’t put down.

[Victoria Peipert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun and silly book. The story about two lonely animals from different parts of the world becoming friends and imaging what the other is like is a sweet tale of diversity and friendship. The beginning of the book was drawn out and the interesting parts really started around the middle but overall it was a playful story that was touching and ignited laughter too.