Yours sincerely, Giraffe by Megumi Iwasa illustrated by Jun Takabatake

How do I judge a book?

• The cover - yes this one is bright and appealing
• The author and illustrator - no I had never heard of these Japanese book creators but I do enjoy books that have been translated from other languages
• The publisher - YES! Gecko Press always select fabulous, intriguing and very different books

I also enjoy books with letters - especially where we can see the actual hand written letters as you can in Yours sincerely, Giraffe.

Dear You, Whoever you are,
Who lives on the other side of the horizon
I am Giraffe. I live in Africa. 
I'm famous for my long neck. 
Please tell me about yourself.

Yours sincerely
Giraffe.

There are three reasons for writing this letter.  Giraffe is lonely and would like a friend, Giraffe is bored and every day seems to be the same as the one before.  Giraffe sees a sign announcing a new mail service.  A Bored Pelican is offering his services (Fee : up to you) to deliver anything, anytime, anywhere.

Pelican flies off towards the horizon.  He eventually returns with a letter from Penguin.  Penguin has never heard of a neck.  He asks the only whale left at Whale Point, Professor Whale but the answer is far from satisfactory.  So the correspondence begins culminating in a visit by Giraffe over the ocean on a raft.  The meeting is joyous and surprising.

This little gem will make you smile.  Yours sincerely, Giraffe would be an excellent book to read aloud to a young class and there is so much to discuss such as perception of self and others, misinformation, asking the right questions and acceptance of difference.

This book reminded me of Run Hare, Run by John Winch because it explored the work of Albrecht Durer who is famous for his drawings of a rhinoceros which were based on a written description.

It’s hard to imagine someone you have never seen. Try it some time.