The Giraffe That Walked to Paris

Purchased because it’s on the reading list of FIAR. It arrived intact and has beautiful illustrations. I use this curriculum for my 8, 6, and 4 year-old. This book was more of a challenge than others on the list, but was enjoyable and led to great conversations.If you’re looking to teach this book I highly recommend also getting “What’s New? The Zoo” by Kathleen Krull as a companion read.

Illustrations were wonderful, but the book fell flat.My main issue was this - One character argues that the giraffe should stay in the south of France and not immediately come to Paris because giraffe don't do winter. But at the end of the book, the giraffe is left to live in a Paris zoo and ultimately through Paris winters. The end notes reveal that the giraffe died from some illness they got one winter - basically their life was cut short. To end the book, there is a photo of the giraffe as taxidermy - apparently displayed in a French museum. All that just did not sit well with us.Also - the book has WAY too many words for the story. We read chapter books all the time without pictures in those - and they were more engaging than this book.

Roger Roth's beautiful illustrations in The Giraffe That Walked to Paris are fantastic. He has caught the essence of Nancy Milton's very entertaining tale which is based on a true story. In a nutshell, the story is about the pasha of Egypt who, as a sign of friendship, gives the king of France a giraffe. The people of France had never seen a giraffe, and it's the cause for much excitement among the people, especially the king. My two young children, 8 and 10, love to hear me read it to them over and over again, and constantly point out some of the many details in the pictures that had been previously overlooked. A well written, entertaining story, and expertly illustrated!

Filling in my FIAR book library.

Absolutely LOVE this book! We read it for a school assignment and fell in love with the giraffe! It was so neat that it is a TRUE story! There are several versions but we wanted this one only .... after we'd read the rest....Searched for it quite some time because we wanted to buy it but it was out of print...So we were so glad when Amazon had it for sale! The pictures are very well done and it's just the BEST version out there! Our son saw the actual giraffe from the book when he was serving his church mission in France. She is preserved there in a museum....

Purchased this for two sets of twin grandchildren. Great book with beautiful illustrations.

We really enjoy reading this book. We bought it for the Five in a Row unit study homeschooling program we're following, but it's a treat for just anybody. The story is well told, neither too wordy nor too cutesy and brief. The pictures are delightful and expressive, pleasant to look at again and again. The author and illustrator included historical notes and a map at the end of the story, which my boys love to view and trace the giraffe's journey. I would not have known about this story without FIAR. I am glad it is back in print and I can definitely say it is worth buying!

I agree that this book has lovely illustrations, but I thought the writing was just... okay. I would have edited this one down significantly, and hope that I would have caught the glaring typo! (I don't have the book in front of me, otherwise I would specify the typo and page #.) My two year old seems to like the book well enough -- she sat through the whole thing and has requested it several times, which says a lot given its wordiness. I try not to buy children's books that I have not at least skimmed beforehand, but I broke my own rule with this one (the story sounds SO interesting, and the illustrations are obviously gorgeous!) and regret it (given the price).

Very good condition book at a very good price. Good customer service - promptly replied to my query. Came in delivery dates, just took a little longer than anticipated as it came surface from US. Well worth the wait. Will use again.

Family favourite!!

A delightful book with incredible illustrations.