Review by Booklist Review
Giraffe's first day in the jungle (catch that metaphor!) takes an uncomfortable turn when a rhino with a book plops down on his back. Soon a monkey, a snake, and, ugh, a skunk all follow suit. To be fair, Giraffe, as Burach portrays him in the loosely drawn cartoons, does have a chairlike flat back and a vertical neck, so the mistake is understandable. Can't they see? Giraffe grumbles. I have SPOTS and EARS and EYES and pointing to his ossicones whatever THESE things are. His determination to assert his identity hits a snag when a hungry lion takes a seat, but at last his need to pee forces a comment, and the lion flees in terror: AHHHHH! Run for your lives!!! A talking chair!!! That does break the ice with his jungle mates though. Me! A chair. Can you believe it? laughs Giraffe at the end, as he perches comfortably atop an annoyed tortoise. The rather oblique lesson may need some explication, but even very young children will chortle at the comical pictures and story line.--Peters, John Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A giraffe, new to the jungle, can't seem to persuade his fellow animals that he isn't a piece of furniture. To them, he's a chair, and chairs are for derrieres. "I'm a giraffe," the giraffe complains to no one in particular (which is part of the problem) after being sat upon once again. "Can't they see? I have spots and ears and eyes"-he points to his ossicones-"and whatever these things are." Burach (There's a Giraffe in My Soup) pursues the chain of consequences triggered by his wonderfully ridiculous premise with gleeful doggedness. The result is a steady stream of silliness that leads to a classic punch line, in which the core misunderstanding saves the put-upon protagonist from being eaten by a lion; a bonus final joke turns the tables yet again. Rat-a-tat dialogue and freewheeling cartooning, featuring a bounty of googly eyes and goofy expressions, make this a great readaloud for anyone who's ever felt objectified or misunderstood-a wide audience if ever there was one. Ages 4-8. Agent: Lara Perkins, Andrea Brown Literary. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Giraffe has a problem. It's his first day in the jungle, and everyone thinks he's a chair! All the animals take turns sitting on him-a monkey, a hippopotamus, and even a human mistake the herbivore for a comfy chair! Giraffe has no luck vocalizing his concern. However, when a lion decides to take a seat, Giraffe musters the courage to say, "I am not a chair!" Readers can engage with this goofy tale while also picking up the message of learning to speak up for themselves. The stylized cartoons are done in pencil and acrylic paint. Burach uses warm colors to depict a populated jungle that welcomes readers and the main character to a new environment. VERDICT An amusing bit of silliness that should find a home in storytime and picture book collections.-Briana Moore, Elmont Memorial Library, NY © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
