Giraffes Can't Dance

My 3 year old loves giraffes and when I saw this book, I knew she'd be excited to read it. The story is about Gerald, a giraffe who isn't the best dancer, and how he has low self esteem about his dance skills because the other animals made fun of him and his clumsy dancing. Gerald feels sad and a cricket, who had been watching him, encourages him to find the music he loves inside himself and dance to it his way. Once he followed this advice and let go of what other animals thought and danced to the beat of his own drum so to speak, he found he really could dance and at the party he impressed the other animals by being himself.I absolutely love the morals of this story because they apply to all people, old and young: when you let the opinions of others get to you, you begin to doubt yourself and become so self conscious that you forget to be yourself; and you may not be the best at any given activity, but if you do your personal best and believe in yourself, you will shine anyway. Gerald was able to let go of the opinions of others when he was alone in the field with the cricket and he found his own rhythm and realized he really could do what others said he couldn't do. He started to believe in himself and it showed as he did his best dancing. The morals make great conversation starters with your children about what things they have doubted themselves about and why it's important to believe in yourself. This book touches on bullying and the negative feelings it brings in an easy to understand way for young children as well and opens dialogue about what the animals could have done differently instead of laughing at Gerald.I love the rhyming text and the bright and engaging illustrations. I like that the pages are made of thick cardboard since it's a board book and I don't have to worry about her bending or tearing the pages. Overall, this is an awesome book with a great message!

Lovely art, well written, terrific message. While not necessarily the grandkid favorite, it was a regular go to pick and my favorite by far.

This a great story and very bright colorful pictures. Rhymes well together and book is a perfect length. My 3 month old loves this book and it’s not always the easiest to get him to focus in longer books but I’ve read it multiple times to him and he still hasn’t became bored. Highly recommend.

This is a super cute book! I bought it for my 19 month old who LOVES to have me read/look at books and loves giraffes. This story is a little too long for her attention span, but it is a great story about being yourself. I’m sure it will be a hit book in our house in no time.

I write reviews on novels great and small every day. I write them on books by great authors and on tomes thick in pages that are filled with literary journeyes that astound the mind. But when it comes to reviewing and finding young children's literature that makes the mark and scores high at our house, it has to pass the panel of young judges that sit enthralled on either side as we check out the new wonder that has arrived in the mail.Giraffes Can't Dance is a book that I have been reading about and wanted to try out on my grandsons. I finally took the plunge and bought a copy. When it arrived, eager young hands helped to tear the envelope open to reveal the surprise inside, then pushed me to the nearest chair where they could climb up to hear the new story.Both the five and two year old were enthralled with the story of the young giraffe who could not dance. They giggled and laughed at the antics of the animals as they danced around in rythmn and rhyme. The two year old was captivated with the bright colorful illustrations of each page, locating and talking about all the animals present at the party. He happily enlarged on the story with what each animal was saying and describing everything he saw.After we finished, he hopped down, with book in hand, and ran over to read the story to his Pop. It was even more endearing and fun to listen to his take on the story and listen to him tell a tale...all based on his visual cues. The five year old's love for the story was a little more straight forward and was ready for a 2nd read.I highly recommend this delightful book (cardboard for little hands) for children and toddlers. Even these "old" kids giggled and laughed at the well written verse and antics of the animal kingdom. It is a great stimulus for the imagination.

My son’s favorite book. Lights up every time we start the first page.

I bought this for my son, and it has quickly become a favorite in our house. The cover art is nice, but the illustrations inside are far more vibrant, detailed, and engaging. The story has a fun rhythm with light rhyming that makes it enjoyable to read aloud.My son loved it so much he tried to eat the book—which is his highest form of approval. After we finished, he was making lion sounds and clearly wanted to keep the fun going. We had a phenomenal time reading it together.Highly recommend for parents looking for a playful, beautifully illustrated story that keeps little ones engaged.

Love it.Teaches kids it’s okay to be different.Beautiful colorful pages.