#500 - Zeraffa Giraffa

by Dianne Hofmeyr and illustrated by Jane Ray

“Zeraffa Giraffa” by Dianne Hofmeyr and illustrated by Jane Ray. Published by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books. An astonishingly true story of a giraffe sent as a gift from Egypt to France in early nineteenth century.

The story starts off with a group of hunters arriving in the plains of Africa. They belonged to the kingdom of the great Pasha (ruler) of Egypt and Sudan. They were on the lookout for a young giraffe. The pasha was keen to become friends with the king of France. He was planning to gift a giraffe for the king’s collection of exotic animals in order to secure his friendship. A small giraffe was captured and strapped to the side of a camel to make the journey home. The pasha was delighted and sent his servant boy Atir along with the giraffe on their way to France.

Paris was a long distance away from where they were. It would be an incredible and one of a kind journey for both Atir and the giraffe who was named Zeraffa by him. They would have to sail down the Nile  first followed by a boat to France which was beyond the edge of Africa across the sea on the other side of the world. Then came the long journey from Marseilles to Paris. Zeraffa was clearly the celebrity all along the journey. Everyone was in awe of the giraffe whose likes they had never set eyes upon in their lives until now. They found Zeraffa so exotic and beautiful. The whole of France was curious to get a glimpse of her and couldn’t help falling in love with her. Zeraffa stole the limelight and the Parisians celebrated her in various ways. Read the charming book to follow Zeraffa and Atir on their extraordinary journey from Africa to Paris and get a glimpse into how their lives might have been.

This book is super special at our home. My son loved the book when we read it for the first time four years ago. A neighbour had borrowed this beautiful book from a library and kindly lent it to us. My son was five years old then and was hooked to it immediately. He was amazed that it wasn’t just a story but based on real events. We had read the book several times over the next few days before returning it. But his love for it was so strong that he managed to request the neighbour to get the book again from the library. We read it so many times that both of us had managed to memorise most of the lines :D I must admit that the narrative was captivating and magical indeed. The accompanying illustrations were gorgeous and brought the entire setting to life. Lots of new words were added to my son’s vocabulary like Acacia, Africa, Egypt, Sudan, Nile, Tafetta, Felucca, Rotunda, Marseilles, Haboob wind etc. He wishes to go to Paris someday to visit the rotunda where Zeraffa lived. Looking at his love for the book, I ended up buying it for him :) Overall it is a “MUST READ”. When I was thinking of a special book to mark the 500th book here, I decided to write about this book as it is very memorable for us.

Recommended Age

The book is apt for children aged 5/6 and above.