I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The story is cute. The pictures are cuter. I like the idea of the book, but I think it didn't come together as well as it could have.

This is a delightful children's book about imagination, gratitude as well as learning a bit about the Savannah and the animals that live there. A young girl, who is quite artistic, draws a chalk giraffe that comes alive. The giraffe talks and complains to the young artist who adds more and more to her drawing to make him happy. When he becomes a bit too demanding, she erases him with her foot. Feeling guilty, she redraws him the next day and allows him to help her with the picture. They add all sorts of animals, trees etc. and finally realize what is missing, another giraffe.

The story is told in rhyme and has a good cadence. The illustrations are well done and complement the story beautifully. The vocabulary will challenge younger children, but it is based on what is being drawn, so a gentle explanation will suffice. I liked that this story teaches about gratitude and companionship, as well as promoting imagination and chalk art. I really enjoyed this story and read it with my grandson (over a video chat). He liked it and wanted to go outside and start drawing on the driveway with chalk as soon as we finished. He liked all the animals and knew most of their names. I hope to read it to him again in person soon.

This imagination filled story is very cute! Our young girl starts off with a giraffe but it doesn't remain alone.

With every second line that rhymes, bright colourful chalk art (on dark blackboard backgrounds), and a fun but legible font; every page of this book is adorable.

The story is simple enough; and at exactly the moment I was thinking our giraffe was getting kind of demanding our little girl calls him out! Just perfect. As the story progresses other elements and animals are added (even a snake, my favourite!). Resulting in a beautiful little ending about companionship and showing a wonderful use of imagination.

The only thing to be aware of here is there are some very complex words that adults will want to make sure they can explain. The three that stood out to me were: 'forlorn', 'genet' (I had to look up a picture of this medium sized cat up to see what it is), and 'acacia tree'. These same words, plus a couple others are great for kids to learn; but may stump a newer child reader as they are not used in everyday language.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

From the very first picture of the little girl laying on the pavement, tongue sticking out as she concentrated on her drawing, I was captivated by the illustrations. That first image was just so endearing, especially to this former teacher of the young. The rest of the pictures truly conveyed the excitement and the heart with which the young girl is telling her story. It made me want to grab some chalk and go outside to see what kind of a world I could create as well.

The rhyming story flows nicely off the tongue, making it a great read-aloud. It captures the little girl's excitement as she creates the new world for the giraffe, her frustration with his crankiness, and then her awe as she takes a look at the world from his perspective.

And I love how the giraffe invites her to climb up to see what he sees in the world and how she is able to acknowledge the other point of view. That part could easily lend itself to a great discussion with kids. And of course, make sure there is plenty of chalk available for outside pavement drawing as well as chalk and black paper inside for more creative expression!

This one is a must-have for the school and home library!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a review copy. I was not obligated to leave a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm not especially fond of rhyming picture books, so the plot has to be very strong for me to enjoy one, especially when it sacrifices clear sentences for the sake of the rhyme scheme as this one does. The plot of this one is a bit high concept, considering the responsibility of creator towards a creation. The simpler lesson, is of course, the power of kindness and understanding.

Delightful artwork, rhyming text, and a positive message will make this picture book a hit at storytimes and at home.

Such great illustrations, and the story is pretty good, too. My problem with this book is the attempt at rhyming. The rhythm is off, and the author ends up using words that are far beyond the vocabulary of the intended audience, sticks the letter a in the front, and/or adds unnecessary details to the story to try to make it work. But really, it just doesn't.

This is a cute story about a girl who draws a giraffe on the sidewalk. To her surprise, the giraffe comes to life and begins asking for more things. He needs a tree and grass to improve his habitat. But each time she adds something there are new demands and his attitude never improves.

In frustration, she erases everything she has drawn on the sidewalk. But that night she realizes she misses him. So the next day she recreates the art from the previous day. But giraffe surprises her by grabbing the chalk and drawing her. And suddenly she is a chalk figure on the ground.

Perhaps she will see life through a different lens and gain a new perspective.

What Concerned Me
Although it’s still a very cute book, the rhyme felt forced at times and made it hard to read.

What I Liked Most
I love that it opens up the opportunity to talk about understanding different points of view.

It also is a wonderful story to introduce creativity and imagination.
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The Chalk Giraffe is a fun picture book about a girl and her artistic creation. She explores the world her giraffe lives in by drawing and erasing both setting and other animals. Nothing seems to make the giraffe happy until she enters his world and discovers what he really wants.
This book is innovative in its approach to using chalk to tell and change the story. The rhyming is well done and holds a steady rhythm. The colors are bright and appealing.

The Chalk Giraffe is a fun modern-day version of a circle story. From the beginning, it reminded me of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. The demands of the giraffe at the beginning of the book made me have flashbacks to the very demanding little mouse.

Unlike If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, the Chalk Giraffe learns a lesson. After getting angry at the little girl who drew him, the two start over on a new day. Together, the little artist and the giraffe create a beautiful world for giraffe to live in. The create a stunning jungle complete with lots of animal friends. At the end of the story, giraffe even gets a girl giraffe to keep him company.

The chalk versions of the illustrations were a perfect match for the story. I loved how the emulated how a child would be indeed drawing chalk sketches just like the little girl does throughout the text. The pictures were fun, bright, and I see children adoring them.

This was adorable. I loved the illustrations & the rhyming text. Great message about looking at things from another point of view. Good vocabulary to teach such as “forlorn”, “lush”, etc. This is a contender for a future story time.

The Chalk Giraffe is a cute rhyming story about a young artist who draws a giraffe with chalk. Instead of being grateful, the giraffe seems determined to find something wrong no matter what, until the girl gets fed up and erases him. She comes back the next day regretful, and redraws the giraffe, only to have the giraffe grab the chalk and draw HER into the picture. Now that she can see things from his perspective, her understanding grows and she works to make his world better.
This is a great story for reinforcing social emotional learning, growth mindset, and developing empathy.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Lovely picture book about a young girl who draws a sidewalk chalk giraffe that comes to life. In retaliation the giraffe draws her into the picture and they create a bunch of friends.

Give a creative little girl a box of coloured chalk and a blackboard and watch her imagination take over. There is a touch of magic that happens in this story because after the little girl draws a giraffe it comes to life and starts a dialogue with her. Now that is crazy exciting isn't it?

Unfortunately the giraffe turns out to be whiny, complainy (is that even a word) and grumpy. He is totally unhappy with....everything! He demands a tree, some soft grass, animal friends and on and on and on. The little girl complies with his wishes and then decides she's had enough and takes her shoe and wipes him away just like that.

"Instead of saying thanks,
you make rude demands.
So goodbye, chalk Giraffe,
you've had your last chance!"
So I rubbed that giraffe right out with my shoe
And the stars, and the sun...
...and the tree that I grew."

Feeling guilty about eradicating him she resurrects him the next day using her artistic drawing skills. Giraffe grabs her chalk away from her and draws her into his inventive reality. By doing so he turns her whole perspective about his quality of life around. She starts seeing the world through his eyes. Now she is able to understand why he wants and needs all the things he has asked for from her. All those components that he demanded will make him much happier in his chalk-drawn world.

This book is written in rhyme and sometimes the rhyming is awkward and doesn't flow quite right. The illustration are vibrant, colourful and fantastic. I like the positive message that being caring, kind and empathetic towards others is very important. It would be a great tool to teach young kids about friendship, acceptance, managing emotions and teamwork. I recommend this book to you.

The Chalk Giraffe is a cute story about a young child that draws a giraffe on the sidewalk. Her giraffe comes to life and begins making demands for improving his habitat. The child meets his demands at first, but soon becomes frustrated that the giraffe is never happy. The giraffe then invites the child to see things from his perspective and she becomes more understanding.

The story is cute overall. There is rhyming throughout, but it's not always consistent and feels forced at times. I can appreciate rhyming in children's stories when done well, but some stories are just as great (or better) without rhyming. The illustrations really add to the story, especially as the giraffe's concrete home comes to life. This book would be great to share with preschoolers and kindergarten students, especially before they go outside to play. It encourages the use of creativity and imagination.

I received a free copy of this title from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

#TheChalkGiraffe #NetGalley

This is a colorful little picture book told in rhyme about a little girl who draws a giraffe out of chalk. He grumbles and complains a lot no matter what she draws for him until she finally erases him and the world she's drawn for him. The next day she feels bad and draws him again and he's magically fine and then he draws her into his world. She sees then that he needs company and draws animals, but still doesn't think to draw him another giraffe until he finally draws a female giraffe that looks exactly like himself to keep him company, and then I guess he's happy and doesn't need her anymore. The story is okay, I guess, though I'm not sure what the lesson is (we need companions who look just like us? don't be too ungrateful or your creator will rub you out? perhaps I'm overthinking it). The rhyme is sometimes forced. The art is bright and fun, and is likely to appeal to kids. All in all, a cute book kids are likely to enjoy.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

This book was silly and wonderful. My husband really hates giraffes (Trauma from when he was a kid) and so I read every giraffe book I see because why not. So that was my only motivation for reading this, but it was so much fun!! The giraffe and little girl are a hilarious pair. A book I would recommend especially if you need a laugh.
#Netgalley

Capstone Editions and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Chalk Giraffe. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

A child draws a giraffe out of chalk on the sidewalk and, low and behold, he comes to life. Instead of being a delightful playmate, the giraffe becomes increasingly demanding and grumpy. When the little girl decides to give her creation a second chance, a sudden change in circumstances gives her a whole new perspective.

I truly enjoyed the illustrations, but I was not blown away by the text itself. In an attempt to give the book a rhythmic quality, the author turns awkward phrases in places. I wish that the story was told without these rhymes, letting the words flow more naturally. Children will get the message that it is good to put yourself in another's shoes and to help others with what they need instead of what you want. Empathy is a learned quality and parents can use The Chalk Giraffe as a learning tool.

The Chalk Giraffe was a cute story of a girl drawing with chalk and creating a world SHE thought was grand. After some mistakes and sad moments, she is able to see the chalk world from the giraffe's perspective and is able to create what other's need, not just what she wants. I love the idea of using this book to teach perspective, friendship, managing emotions and partnership.

The Chalk Giraffe is a story about thinking outside the box and seeing things from a different perspective. I love the illustrations and it's a cute story I'm sure kids will enjoy. Don't be surprised if they immediately want to go draw with chalk. 😉