Giraffes Can’t Dance: Jingle Bells

Giraffes Can’t Dance: Jingle Bells

Giles Andreae

Guy Parker-Rees

Orchard Books, 2024

16pp., board book., RRP $A16.99

9781408371855

Everyone knows that giraffes can’t dance- that is unless you are Gerald!  

Gerald was a tall giraffe

Whose neck was long and slim,

But his knees were awfully bandy

And his legs were rather thin.

After being laughed at by the other animals who all seemed to manage their limbs well, in the iconic Giraffes Can’t Dance, Gerald had lost his confidence until he had a conversation with a wise cricket who told him that sometimes you “just need a different song”.  And now, here he is, swaying his neck, shaking his tail and kicking his hooves  as he grooves along to the cricket playing Jingle Bells on his violin and all the other animals join in.

 Jingle Bells would have to be one of the first Christmas songs that many of our little ones learn and so they will delight in following both the text and the pictures in this new adventure for Gerald.  Written to the tune of the traditional melody they can join in, predict the rhymes and just generally delight in its playfulness.  But best of all, they will be able to join Gerald on the dance floor and move to the beat of their own drum.

Sheer delight.