Neck & Neck

by Elise Parsley

Overview

In this crowd-pleasing read-aloud from the creator of the bestselling If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don't!, a giraffe's self-esteem is tested during a hilarious confrontation between unlikely look-alikes!

Everybody loves Leopold the giraffe. He inspires awe and wonder. His adoring fans gaze and cheer. Best of all, they feed him lots of deeeelicious snacks! But, one day, a shiny, bobble-headed new rival comes in and ruins everything...a giraffe-shaped balloon! Just how far will Leopold go to prove that he's the hero of the zoo? Readers learn that actions speak far louder than looks in this laugh-out-loud face-off from Elise Parsley—the New York Times bestselling creator of the Magnolia Says DON'T! series.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316466745
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	06/05/2018
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	323,241
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 12.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Elise Parsley has written and illustrated the New York Times bestseller If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, DON'T! and three other stories about Magnolia, as well as How to Catch a Clover Thief and Neck & Neck. She also illustrated The Magic Word by Mac Barnett. Elise and her family live in South Dakota, and she invites you to visit her website at eliseparsley.com.

Editorial Reviews

04/16/2018
A giraffe with sky-high attitude, wildly fluctuating facial expressions, and a knack for spot-on zingers lifts this latest outing from Parsley (If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don’t!) to hilarious heights. The only giraffe at the zoo, lofty Leopold relishes the undivided attention and the ample snacks that young visitors shower upon him—until he comes snout-to-snout with an imposter: a balloon shaped like a giraffe featuring an impossibly wide, toothy grin. When the kid holding the balloon boasts about his giraffe’s assets, Leopold takes his bruised ego to his favorite tree, where he chomps off a branch and punctures the “grinning goofus.” His triumph is short-lived, since the kid reappears holding multiple identical balloons—not quite tightly enough, as it turns out—catapulting Leopold into a moral dilemma (“To save. Or not to save?”). Revealing the spindly hero in an array of silly poses and overblown moods, Parsley’s digital illustrations deliver a laugh on each spread. And readers will cheer on Leopold as he opts to take the high road—and ends up on top. Ages 4–8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (June)

Publishers Weekly

An Amazon Best Book of June 2018
A Redbud Primary Read-Aloud Award 2019 Masterlist Selection
2019-2020 Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award Nominee


"Parsley's...tale deals with some serious issues that are treated comically. ...A lighthearted foray into the difficulties of zoo life and—more to the point—peer behavior."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Hilarious...a laugh on each spread. And readers will cheer on Leopold as he opts to take the high road—and ends up on top."—Publishers Weekly

"An energetic, relatable tale with multiple surprises that forces readers to think about how they handle competition...excellent."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

06/01/2018
PreS-Gr 2—Leopold the giraffe greatly enjoys being the center of attention at the zoo. So, when he spies competition in the form of a giraffe-head balloon being held by a small boy, Leopold does everything he can to capture the child's attention, including getting rid of the balloon. After much consideration and soul searching, Leopold assists the boy in acquiring a replacement balloon and earns the child's adoration. The story unfolds at a decent pace, maintaining slight suspense over what the characters will do next. The vocabulary used is simple and expressive, and even changes font for dramatic emphasis. This device is extremely effective for read-alouds as the text acts like performance cues. Early readers should still be able to understand the story through Parsley's dynamic expressions for each character, especially Leopold. Through a combination of Adobe and Corel, Parsley has created a series of distinguished illustrations that tell a story all on their own. In fact, there are certain turning points that are expressed solely through facial expression with no textual assistance. While both text and illustration could tell the story separately, together they create an energetic, relatable tale with multiple surprises that force readers to think about how they handle competition. VERDICT An excellent story to teach toddlers how to do the right thing, even when they don't want to.—Margaret Kennelly, iSchool at Urbana-Champaign, IL

School Library Journal

2018-03-18
A giraffe who fancies himself king of the zoo fights an uphill battle to maintain his sovereignty and his supply of treats.Leopold is adored by the zoo-going children and relishes his high position—until one brown-faced child appears with competition in the form of a high-flying giraffe balloon. Giraffe and balloon play a game of one-upmanship until the giraffe appears to be the loser. The balloon does not require a steady supply of snacks, which leads to Leopold sulking with his head in an acacia tree and then exacting explosive revenge against the upstart balloon. The scheme backfires as the kid shows up with a bigger and better version of the balloon in the form of a whole bunch of them. Alas, the kid trips, the kid loses the balloons, and the giraffe faces a moral dilemma. All ends well for the giraffe and his snacks and the boy and his balloons. Parsley's little tale deals with some serious issues that are treated comically. Her digital artwork emphasizes the heights of the high-necked and high-strung combatants, as does the tall format of the book. Facial features are exaggerated while type resembling hand-drawn lettering advances the drama, occasionally filling a double-spread with explosive action.While not a first-choice title to deal with jealousy and decision-making, this is a lighthearted foray into the difficulties of zoo life and—more to the point—peer behavior. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews