Giraffe Problems

Starred review from June 18, 2018
Nora Ephron felt bad about her neck, and Cyrus the giraffe feels bad about his, too. “Yes, my neck is too necky. Everybody stares at it,” he sighs. He confesses to embarrassment (“I’ve tried hiding it away”) and compares his neck to others’ (“Take a gander at this zebra’s neck. Stripes always look good”). Edward, a turtle, has almost no neck at all, but he also feels bad: “I’ve felt like such a fool as I stretched my neck toward those greedy branches, only to be limited by my own physical shortcomings.” It’s easy for Cyrus to retrieve the banana Edward’s been eyeing for days, a moment that warrants a vertical gatefold, and being able to help Edward gives Cyrus more satisfaction than all the empty reassurance he’s been offered. In this follow up to Penguin Problems, Smith (Grandpa Green) uses earth-toned greens, golds, and browns to create all kinds of brushy, stroked, veined, and lined textures, and his characters’ black eyes convey a wealth of emotions. Lighthearted palaver by John (The Bad Seed) flows effortlessly, and the pair’s courtly manners (“That means a great deal to me, Edward”) are sure to garner laughs as their shared dismay rings true. Ages 3–7.

August 15, 2018
Necks come in many sizes, and sometimes those sizes seem inconvenient.Edward the giraffe is unhappy about his neck. It's so..."necky." Despite fancy adornments and multiple attempts to hide, Edward is unable to accept his longest-lasting problem--his neck. That is, until he meets his complete opposite: a turtle named Cyrus whose problem is also his neck. It's too short. He desperately wants a banana but can't reach it. Together they solve each other's problems and delight in each other's strengths, thereby also learning to accept themselves as just right. Smith's artwork is eye-catching and expressive, with a retro feel, using earth tones and geometric shapes to evoke texture and dimension. The story, though lively, does not soar as high as Edward's neck, remaining earthbound due to well-worn tropes and a too-tidy ending. Additionally, the author has missed out on a STEM opportunity by failing to introduce animal nomenclature, simply labeling the animals Edward believes are staring at him (a warthog, a crocodile, and other animals) as simply "This guy," "That guy," and so forth. A clever bit of paper engineering does enable readers to take part in the story for a brief moment. Learning to appreciate one's body in all its complicated and even ungainly forms is a laudable moral--one that should hide itself behind a more original story.Skip this stretch of a story and seek out stronger friendship titles instead. (Picture book. 5-8)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 2-In a follow-up to Penguin Problems, John and Smith team up again and bring their zany brand of comedy. Edward the giraffe has a problem with his neck-it's just too necky. Who wants such a long neck? "Everybody stares at it. This guy. That guy. Him. Her. Them. Whatever that is. Her again." Edward envies his fellow African animals, who generally respond unfavorably. When Edward admires the zebra's classic stripes, the zebra snaps, "Quit staring at me," but it takes a self-effacing turtle named Cyrus to convince him that his neck is just perfect. A foldout page reveals Edward using his neck for its intended purpose. In a beautiful introduction to the uniqueness of a giraffe's spots, Smith has created large, block-printed spots in natural colors to adorn the end pages. The textured print continues throughout, visible in the hides of animals, the bark of trees, and the textured ground of the African plain. Of course, there is the theme of self-acceptance and a bit of sublime silliness as well, especially in Edwards's fruitless attempts at camouflage and in the expressively simple eyes of Cyrus the turtle. VERDICT This book will appeal to older preschoolers as well as elementary school kids, and would lend itself perfectly to dramatic interpretation or an art lesson in sponge or block printing.-Lisa Taylor, Florida State College, Jacksonville

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2018
Grades 1-3 *Starred Review* Less acerbic but no less engaging than the avian whiner in Penguin Problems (2016), Edward the giraffe frets about his prominent neck? It's too long. / Too bendy. / Too narrow. / Too dopey ?and despite his mother's assertion that it's something to be proud of ( Yeah, right, ), he feels like all the other animals have cooler ones. Until, that is, he meets Cyril, a tortoise with the opposite issue ( Pathetic, right? I'm basically neckless ), and does him a solid by plucking down a long-coveted banana. You made it look so easy! marvels Cyril. Edward, face it?your neck is impressive. Edward, abashed, compliments Cyril's own elegant and dignified neck, and off go the two new friends to explore the world from each other's radically different perspective. Never one to let an opportunity for caricature go to waste, Smith stretches Edward's neck to comical length in the brushy illustrations, decks it with neckties and shrubbery, and then after sending it sinuously spiraling and flopping through various scenes, shows on a climactic foldout that it's the perfect length to reach a bunch of bananas on a tall tree. That it's just right for a giraffe is a notion that Edward, not to mention young readers with self-consciousness issues of their own, will have no trouble swallowing.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)