The King's Giraffe

by Mary Jo Collier, Peter Collier, Stéphane Poulin (Illustrator)

It is 1826, and the pasha, the ruler of Egypt, has found the perfect way to convey his appreciation to his friend, King Charles of France. His precious giraffe will travel by ship to the port of Marseilles, and then on to Paris. And, as the this true story unfolds, both boy and beast are greeted with the host of unexpected delights.

40 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1996

Reviews

[Jean-Marie]

This picture book is based on the true story of how the first giraffe arrived in France as a gift from Egypt's Pasha Mehemet Ali to King Charles of France. The 11-year-old and I read this to complement our history lessons about France from the same time period (1826). Nice story. Lovely illustration.

[Beverly]

A wonderful story with nice illustrations; the text is quite long, so this picture book is for older readers, about 3rd grade and older.

[Megan Packnett]

Art was beautiful. The kids (10 &8) went in and out of paying attention. It was an interesting story.

[Angie]

Historically interesting, this would have been better with more art, or as a short chapter book. It was very text-heavy for a picture book, and we couldn’t read it in one sitting.