GIRAFFE MATH

Giraffes by the numbers.

“Giraffe numbers are everywhere,” coos twiggy Twiga, giraffe narrator, who goes on to lay out typical measurements for their bodies and select parts, from ossicones atop their heads (“They can reach a length of over 10 inches. If you’re seven or eight years old, that is almost the length of your arm”) to pizza-pie–sized hooves. Along with other number-based nuggets like speed, she names the four giraffe species (reticulated, Masai, southern, and northern)—distinguishable in Valério’s paint and paper collage scenes by their patterns of spots—and mentions predators, diet, social behavior, and other basic non-numerate facts. The “math” is more notional than exact as, for instance, schematic lines show how the stiff-legged postures of drinking giraffes form equilateral or isosceles triangles, but the difference between the two is not explained. Also, a reference to “percentages” at the end may be confusing, since neither the word nor the symbol is used elsewhere. Invitations to compare measurements with those of other animals remain an abstract exercise, as the accompanying illustrations are not consistently to scale. The backmatter includes a range map and a note on the giraffe life cycle. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Weak on the math but should interest a number of wild animal lovers.