Customer Reviews

The Giraffe Who Was Afraid of Heights

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This is the story of a young Giraffe who is afraid of heights, a young monkey who is afraid to climb trees, and a young hippo who is afraid of water. They all meet on their way to seek help from the village doctor. The three of them are deep in thought and do not see a crocodile approach the little monkey. The crocodile's mouth is open wide, ready for lunch.

The monkey jumps on the giraffe's head. The Giraffe stands tall and deposits the monkey in the top of a coconut tree. Coconuts rain down on the crocodile, the hippo chases him into the water, biting his tail and scaring him away. This life-threatening event causes the three friends to face and overcome their fears. This is a great book to use as an aid to open conversation between you and your child to address his/her fears. You may even discover some fears you were not aware of.

This beautifully illustrated book is also filled with facts about the animals featured in the story. "For Creative Minds" in the back of the book explains the life saving attributes of the giraffe, the monkey, and the hippo. Giraffes, because of their long necks, are able to see all around and often see predators while they are far away. Monkeys spend most of their time living in or around trees. They are able to climb to the top of a tree to sleep safely. Hippos' eyes, noses, and ears are on top of their heads so they can see, breathe, and hear while they lay low in the water.

You will learn fun facts about giraffes, monkeys, hippos, and crocodiles as well as a fun game in the back of this excellent book.

The Giraffe Who Was Afraid Of Heights is a picturebook story about animal friends who bond together to face their fears. A young giraffe is so afraid of heights he's terrified to lift his head above the ground, a monkey is afraid of climbing trees, and a hippo afraid of water can't cross the river. When a terrible crocodile threatens to eat them, they must work together, and find courage within themselves stronger than any doctor's treatment. Soft color illustrations bring this story of cooperation and self-improvement to life. A supplementary section presents true facts about the animals portrayed in the book. An excellent, character-building picturebook for young readers.

Reviewed by: Gayle Jacobson-Huset - Managing Editor

Author David Ufer wrote a terrific story that will help children see how to overcome their fears through a unique storyline of a giraffe who's afraid of heights, a monkey who's afraid of climbing trees, and a hippo who's afraid to cross the river. You'll just have to read this delightful tale to see what fourth animal enters into the equation and what happens to all four of the animals. I give this book a high five all the way around - a unique, fun, extremely well-written storyline with a neat message that held my interest to the very end; fantastic, endearing illustrations by Kirsten Carlson; and the great learning experiences at the end of this book and also online thanks to the superior quality of Sylvan Dell Publishing. This is a must read for the little ones! The Creative Minds section at the end of the book has Animal Adaptations for each animal in the story, Fun Facts about each animal, A Matching Game, and Craft Activity: Mix-and-Match Activity Book. This entire section can also be downloaded at the Sylvan Dell website.

In addition, readers can find cross-curricular "Teaching Activities," an audio reading, child-friendly "Learning Links," and comprehension and math quizzes for free at www.SylvanDellPublishing.com

Another big plus - Author David A. Ufer donates a portion of his royalties from the sale of this book to the World Wildlife Fund. How cool is that?

This 590 word picture book focuses on a giraffe, a hippo and a monkey who each have a fear he or she needs to overcome. On the way to the doctor, the monkey is approached by a hungry crocodile. In the face of this emergency, the animals forget their fears and perform the very acts they were frightened of doing.

Children will be able to relate to this story. It will be a useful starting place for parents to initiate conversations about fears in general and any specific fear that a child is experiencing.

The For Creative Minds section provides interesting facts about the four species of animals in the book. With the child's increased awareness of these animals after hearing the story, he or she will want to know more. I particularly like the introductory paragraph. Is it Fact or Fiction? helps the reader understand which parts of the story are make-believe.

I think that it is a very nice story about a little giraffe who is afraid and who will find friends that are scared of other things to. They eventually get over it and master their freas.