THE GIRL ON THE YELLOW GIRAFFE

This reissue of a 1976 title has new, soft watercolor illustrations that match the understated tale as city scenes become a fairy tale venue from a young girl’s view astride her four-wheeled wooden giraffe scooter. The short text narrates the fantasy perspective while the illustrations depict the reality. For example: “The girl on a yellow giraffe lived in a stone castle that had a magic box that carried her gently down to the land of giants”; then the double spreads show an apartment building with an elevator and the girl riding a toy giraffe around city streets. A wizard is a bum on a park bench surrounded by pigeons; monsters and dragons are a dump truck and an excavator; a garden with a fountain is a sidewalk with a fire hydrant. The concept has had many interpretations, both previous and recent, e.g., Paul Fleischman’s Sidewalk Circus (p. 221), which is a livelier take, while the quiet tone and assurance of a jeans-clad mom at the girl’s side makes this suitable for younger children. (Picture book. 3-5)