Giraffes Can't Dance

by Giles Andreae

Book Overview

Gerald is a giraffe who simply can't dance. Try as he may, his long, spindly legs buckle whenever he starts to boogy. Every year he dreads going to the Great Jungle Dance - until one night when he finds his own special music...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0439287197
• ISBN13: 9780439287197
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Orchard Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 9.8" x 12.0"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Great read!

Book was in awesome condition, the story was incredibly cute and encourages kids to find their way despite the sneers of others.

Wonderful Message

I have an 8yr old and a 10 month old. They both loved this book and I thought the message it was sending was so positive and uplifting to both of them.

One of my favorite children's books

My husband and I absolutely love this book. Our daughter likes it too, but at 18 months the pages are still a little long for her. I expect it to grow along with her. The rhyming rhythm is good, the illustrations are beautiful, and the message is absolutely heart warming.

Great reading for children

Our children, though not of our own, love our library of books, great time when they visit, thanks for such a great company.

This was a great book

This book was exactly what I needed! I find the right book for my kids for their birthdays and this one was perfect.

Giraffes Can’t Dance

It is a cute book for kids. The illustrations are very cute. Gerald the giraffe is greatly portrayed as the outcast because he can’t dance. The book has a very good ending and message.

Good illustrations, pretty good story, nice message

I quite liked this book, my children LOVE it. The illustrations are amazing, they are nicely drawn, and the colour! It is extraodinarily rich and vibrant. I don't know if it simply that it suits the setting of this book which is Africa or if this is usual for this illustrator. Whatever the reason I will definitley be finding more of these books for my kids. My two girls spend ages looking at the pictures picking out the small details. The story is nice. It is about Gerald the Giraffe who attends the annual dance but it laughed at by the other animals for being so clumsy. Gerald goes away humiliated, but he meets a cricket who teaches him to listen for his own special music, and that is the music he should dance to. Gerald listens and hears it, and then he starts to dance himself and it is wonderful, all the other animls come to watch and applaud. So it has a nice positive message at the end of it too.

Great story, cool illustrations, fun hide and seek

I bought this book for my 2 yr old and he loved the story from the beginning. After the first read we realized that the cricket was on every page of the book. Boy did we have fun looking for it on the second time around. After ten different readings we finally found all the crickets. the story is a good one when you watch your toddler show empathy for Gerald. I highly recommend this book!!

A timeless lesson

Although written for children ages 3 to 6, as a middle school librarian, I know my students can also identify with Gerald the Giraffe's insecurities. They know too well how fickle their "friends" can be if they fail to fit in. Learning that everyone can dance when they find the music they love is a lesson that they will revisit many times during their lives...but probably never so simply or beautifully as with Gerald the Giraffe.

Teacher's Favorite

Gerald the giraffe simply wants to fit in with the other animals, but he feels as if he is inadequate because he can't dance like his friends. A wise friend tells him that he must listen for the right music. Gerald realizes that he, too, has the ability to dance. As a kindergarten and Reading Recovery teacher, I look for books that will encourage validation of the child who feels different. I was excited to discover GIRAFFE'S CAN'T DANCE. It was perfect for my teacher staff development introduction.