Giraffe and a Half

by Nicola Kent

24 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Rosemary Standeven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book about accepting your differences, and not hiding away. Sometimes other people are just waiting for an invitation to make friends with you. They may note your differences, but it does not mean they cannot accept you for all that you are.
Beautiful illustrations, and a beautiful message.

[Stace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giraffe and a Half is an adorable children’s picture book about embracing differences. Giraffe was born with six legs and three ears. Because of their differences, they hide away from the other animals, that is until they meet a bird with three wings who teaches them not to be scared to let the animals see their differences as most won’t be bothered by how they look.

The message that runs through the book will be helpful for any child who has something different about them. It shows them that most people can see past others’ differences and that sometimes they just need to take a chance on others.

The illustrations are beautiful and calming and fill each page. The plot is divine and the words pack a punch. Overall, Giraffe and a Half is a superb book and one that should be read by all young children.

[Becs · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet natured tale about a giraffe with some extra legs and ears, learning from other animals to embrace being different.

I love the message and the illustrations are nice, there just seemed to be a bit missing the character - I feel like oftentimes in children’s literature, particularly for a much earlier audience, the narrative fails to really create the character into a likeable and memorable one; the type you’d be able to sell plushies of because kids love them so much. That was definitely the case here, but the story was nice enough.

ARC provided from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

[Helen Cawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell in love with this story ,Reading to my child. was a library book but will be adding to our collection.

[Rachel F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read to Henry

[Kitchen Sink Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giraffes, beautiful animals that should probably feature in a few more children’s books, they are possibly among the strangest looking of animals too, with their extra-long necks. They are useful though, those necks, nature made the giraffe that way for a reason, just as we have all been made the way we are for a reason. Every single one of us is unique and none of us are perfect. That is how it is and how it should be. Embracing difference should come naturally, we shouldn’t even have to think about it. Sadly, we do and that is where books come in, through story, through characters we can relate to, we can all learn how important it is to realize difference is what makes us who we are and not a barrier to anything. Nicola Kent’s absolutely adorable Giraffe and A Half does this with so much positivity and enthusiasm that it is impossible not to want to read this book and not to learn from it without even realizing.

Little Giraffe was a Giraffe and A Half, she had not four legs but six and not two ears but three, she had half as much again as most other giraffes. Maybe that meant she was a little bit different but imagine how much fun it was for her to listen to birdsong, to crunch on leaves (I would love to have more legs to do that with in the autumn!) But it was when she went out to play that Giraffe felt different, sometimes she even felt a little bit weird. Rather than playing with the other animals Giraffe tended to play on her own, she thought it was easier that way. Playing hide-and-seek (by herself) one day you can imagine how surprise Giraffe was to hear “Found you” shouted out. She had been hiding under a particularly colourful tree when Bird with a Third found her. Yes, you guessed it, three wings, three legs. But he was not alone, he has too many friends to be alone… Bird helps Giraffe see that she will always be a little bit different but that the more she joined in the less people would even think to notice. A beautiful story with an important message.