Picture Book Contest Prompt #6

7/22/2012

"Poor giraffe's neck is too short. What is he to do?" Looking forward to seeing what you super smart folks do with this one.

6 Comments

Michelle Wiley

9/29/2012 02:55:54 pm

The Story of Gerard Giraffe

Gerard giraffe made the whole class laugh
On his first day at school
Half of Giraffe Academy
Was giggling by the pool

They whispered "check the new kid,
Have you seen him, very queer!
He's not a real giraffe like us
He more a speckled deer!

The neck was un-giraffe-like
Brief, sawed-off, I must report
Gerard's neck, well, it was
How shall we say this, it was - short

That pack herd called the G Necks
Began to hoot and shout
"Hey Shorty, with the funny neck
Go on, go home, get out!

Right, he said, my neck is short
But that's OK, I'm cool
And Gerard lifted his head and smiled
In front of the whole school

They say it ended right there
No one spoke another word.
On his very first day of school
Gerard Giraffe had joined the herd.

Jill Proctor

10/2/2012 06:03:01 am

When Jericho the Giraffe is born with a short neck, the herd laughs at him. But his parents worry, "He won't be able to eat the leaves and branches high on the acacia trees. And he won't be able to drink from the watering holes."

But Jericho surprises everyone. Giraffes are known for their long tongues, but Jericho is blessed with a 6 foot extra long tongue! He is able to reach high and low. But that's not all; Jericho can do tricks with his tongue.

Often times those tricks get Jericho into heaps of trouble. But, needless to say, Jericho eventually adjusts his ways and, in the end, he becomes a much loved - and valuable - member of the herd.

Jan Avellana link

10/2/2012 07:06:12 am

Giraffe was a regular giraffe in every way except one. She had long, legs with knobby knees. She had beautiful brown spots that ran from up and down the entire length of her body. She had soft tufts of fur on the tippy top of her head, and eyes soft and large as fluffy pancakes. Her shiny black hooves looked like two toed tap shoes and so, she would often dance and prance around the savannah singing, “I am a lovely giraffe! I am kind and sweet! I love being me!” And she did love being herself…most of the time. That is, until one of the other giraffes teasingly reminded Giraffe of her very, very short neck.

Dorina Gilmore link

10/2/2012 02:04:42 pm

My kids and I started working on this one in the car. I hope to actually write it out. The gist of it is that Geri the Giraffe decides to try out some local classes to help with his height issues . He kicks his way through karate, swims new strokes in the pool, even learns to lift weights and pump up his muscles at the gym. But when he joins a local yoga class and perfects the "giraffe pose," he finally finds a solution to his challenges and he's no shorty anymore.

Marcy Pusey link

10/3/2012 04:57:02 am

Geni Giraffe's neck was too short.
When she compared it to the other giraffes.
She hadn't noticed this shortness of neck...
until someone pointed it out.
She looked around and suddenly it seemed so.
Too short.

She enlisted Chanti Chimpanzee.
To pull.
And pull and pull and pull
with all her chimpanzee might.
Geni felt a little taller... and a lot achy.

She decided a new approach was in order.
She enlisted Susy Snake to wrap around her head and a branch.
So she could hang from a tree.
Dangle, dangle, dingle.
Curplunk.
Suzy and Geni laid in a heap on the ground.
Longer neck? Sore bottom.

*a series of scenarios of attempting to lengthen her neck would go on, until her neck has actually lengthened! But the she realizes that reaching the low leaves on the tree is suddenly awkward, she can't run faster than the others like she'd once been able to, and she keeps hitting her head on low-lying branches. She begins to regret her decision to stretch out her neck and appreciate who she'd once been... much to her surprise, all her hard work was short lived and her neck shrinks back to normal... but now she loves it! The benefits of a short neck.*

Susan Rankin-Pollard

10/5/2012 07:53:20 am

This is the story of Jhayda Giraffe,
Whose neck was shorter by more than one half...

(Will this ultimately rhyme? No idea.)

In the story, Jhayda (meaning "young and delicate" in Africa) is normal and relatively pretty is the eyes of giraffe-dom, except that her neck is only half the length it should be. Jhayda finds many ways to overcome her, well, short-comings without much fuss (hey, NO giraffe's neck is long enough to reach water without standing funny, right?). But in an animal grouping where neck length is a major feature, Jhayda can't help but feel like she got the short end of the stick.

After numerous attempts, some of them rather painful (getting her head stuck between 2 tree trunks while an elephant friend pulls) to lengthen her neck, Jhayda goes off in search of Gazali (meaning "mystic" in Africa), a old and wise gazelle, for some counsel.

Along the way, we are shown advantages that Jhayda has with her short neck. Such as it being easier to talk to animals who are closer to the ground, who thus view her as being more friendly than her lofty, nose-in-the-air cousins. It also turns out that she can run much easier with a shorter neck.

Gazali's first words upon seeing her are, "My what a unique and beautiful creature you are! Why, I can see your lovely eyes and beautiful soul so much better, my child!"

Jhayda cries that she is not beautiful, but Gazali points out that she isn't exactly delicate either to have been able to make the dangerous journey to see him alone. "Sometimes we are most beautiful when we are not what others expect us to be."

Picture Book Contest Prompt #6

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