I Am Not a Chair!

A giraffe, new to the jungle, can’t seem to persuade his fellow animals that he isn’t a piece of furniture. To them, he’s a chair, and chairs are for derrieres. “I’m a giraffe,” the giraffe complains to no one in particular (which is part of the problem) after being sat upon once again. “Can’t they see? I have spots and ears and eyes”—he points to his ossicones—“and whatever these things are.” Burach (There’s a Giraffe in My Soup) pursues the chain of consequences triggered by his wonderfully ridiculous premise with gleeful doggedness. The result is a steady stream of silliness that leads to a classic punch line, in which the core misunderstanding saves the put-upon protagonist from being eaten by a lion; a bonus final joke turns the tables yet again. Rat-a-tat dialogue and freewheeling cartooning, featuring a bounty of googly eyes and goofy expressions, make this a great readaloud for anyone who’s ever felt objectified or misunderstood—a wide audience if ever there was one. Ages 4–8. [em]Agent: Lara Perkins, Andrea Brown Literary. (Feb.) [/em]