Author: Giles Andreae
Genre: Children’s Picture Book
Subgenre: fiction
Theme: Never Giving Up
Primary Characters: Gerald the Giraffe
Secondary Characters: the warthogs, rhinos, lions, chimps, baboons, and the cricket
Awards: None
Date of Publication: 1999
Publishing Company: Orchard Books
Summary of the book: This is a story about a giraffe named Gerald who would love to dance, but his legs are too skinny and neck is too long. Every time Gerald tries to dance his knees buckle and he is unable to do the moves. The other animals who can dance begin to tease Gerald because he looks so silly. At one point he hears from the animals that “giraffes can’t dance.” Gerald becomes very sad when he hears this and thinks he will never be able to dance like the other animals. Gerald runs into a small cricket who believes in him. The tiny cricket explains to Gerald that all he has to do is put his mind to it and he can dance. The cricket explains to him that everything thing makes music. After Gerald’s take with the cricket he begins to sway and dance and all the other animals watch in amazement.
How can the book be used with students in the classroom: I would have the children listen to the story, after reading I would have the children discuss how they felt about the story. I would ask them, “How do you think Giraffe felt when he couldn’t dance”, and see if any of the children have ever felt this way. I would explain to them that sometimes things can be hard to do, but we should try them anyway. I would have the draw pictures and share a time that they felt they couldn’t do something but try anyway. I would make a class book out of the pictures they create.
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