A Kiss for Giraffe

by Judith Koppens, Suzanne Diederen (Illustrator)

Overview

"This title also lends itself to a discussion about problem-solving and communicating with friends. This title is recommended for school and public libraries to talk about critical thinking skills and friendship" - School Library Journal

Giraffe and Piggy are the best of friends. Piggy wants to give Giraffe a kiss, but Giraffe is too tall. What will Piggy do?

An endearing and simple story about friendship. For toddlers ages 30 months and up, with a focus on the child’s emotions.

At Clavis, our focus is on what’s best for children. We believe that books play an important role in each new phase in life. Our toddler books are tailored for every stage from 0 to 3 and focus on the five most important themes in their life: daily life, skills, emotions, the world, and language development. The age range and theme of every book in our toddler series can be found on the back cover in the form of a colored train.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781605374079
Publisher:	Clavis
Publication date:	04/09/2019
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.27(w) x 8.66(h) x (d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Judith Koppens has been an author and illustrator for many years. Children are her most important source of inspiration. Their enthusiasm and honesty are always part of her work. Judith lives in the Netherlands and works as a teacher at an elementary school.

Suzanne Diederen (1974) received an education at the Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts and Design. She specialized in illustrating children’s books and picture books. Her works have been translated into German, Swedish, Danish, French, English, Italian, Spanish and Korean. When she isn't doing yoga or having fun with her son Gilles and her daughter Sophie, she can be found working illustrations for a new picture book.

Interviews

Author Bella Makatini is the winner of the Inclusive Works International Children's Story Contest and she talks about how THE BIG FIVE came to be: I’ve always loved writing and, when I saw the subject of the competition -- “Grandpa, Grandma and me in the multicultural society” -- it appealed to me immediately. Through the veins of my sons flows a mixture of South-African and Dutch blood. My father came from South-Africa. He died two years before the birth of my eldest son. My story The Big Five is about a boy who sets off to discover the world of the elephant, the lion, the rhinoceros, the leopard and the buffalo. With this story I would like to bring the two cultures together, and to bring to life for my sons the grandfather they never knew."

Editorial Reviews

"PreS–Faced with the challenge of a height difference, Piggy tries to figure out how to give Giraffe a kiss on the face. Piggy tries a variety of techniques to close the height gap, including digging a hole for Giraffe to sit in, and ways to elevate himself to Giraffe’s height. The solution comes naturally when Piggy climbs up a ladder and falls. Giraffe leans his head down to check on his friend, and, voilà, Piggy is able to give him a kiss. Simple text and illustrations work well together to make it a good choice for storytime. This title also lends itself to a discussion about problem-solving and communicating with friends.
VERDICT This title is recommended for school and public libraries to talk about critical thinking skills and friendship." - School Library Journal

From the Publisher

01/24/2020

PreS—Faced with the challenge of a height difference, Piggy tries to figure out how to give Giraffe a kiss on the face. Piggy tries a variety of techniques to close the height gap, including digging a hole for Giraffe to sit in, and ways to elevate himself to Giraffe's height. The solution comes naturally when Piggy climbs up a ladder and falls. Giraffe leans his head down to check on his friend, and, voilà, Piggy is able to give him a kiss. Simple text and illustrations work well together to make it a good choice for a storytime. This title also lends itself to a discussion about problem-solving and communicating with friends. VERDICT This title is recommended for school and public libraries to talk about critical thinking skills and friendship.—Robin Sofge, Prince William Public Library System, VA

School Library Journal

2019-02-06

Piggy wants to give his best friend a kiss, but how will he reach Giraffe's face?

Koppens' simple language sets up the problem on the first spread: "Giraffe and Piggy are best friends. Piggy wants to give Giraffe a kiss, but Giraffe is too tall. ‘How can I reach you?' Piggy asks." Succeeding spreads show Piggy's creative, Rube Goldberg-esque solutions, ones that children might think up on their own: dig a hole for Giraffe to sit in, swing as high as he can on a rope, take a running jump, and climb a ladder. Each fails, the last rather spectacularly, and as Giraffe bends down to make sure Piggy is OK and give him a kiss, Piggy realizes the obvious solution and takes the opportunity to kiss Giraffe in return: "Now, why didn't I think of that?" This is solely a problem-solution story rather a friendship tale with depth, which might have made this book stand out. Savanna backgrounds are simple, keeping the focus on the characters, which is a bit problematic: Giraffe has no personality whatsoever, and their facial expression barely changes at all, remaining largely static with vacant eyes. Piggy has a little more spark.

Kids will be a step ahead of Piggy in solving the problem of reaching Giraffe to bestow a kiss, but that's not enough to make it a good book. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews