Giraffe is Grumpy

Giraffe is Grumpy first appeared in 2019 as a board book with the title Will Giraffe Laugh?. As the revised title indicates, Giraffe’s current mood is one of grumpiness, and the question becomes: Can one of giraffe’s five presently happy animal friends do something to make him laugh?

As Giraffe encounters each member of his friend quintet, the text reads, “Will Giraffe laugh with [insert animal name]?” A smiling Bear tries juggling, but one of the objects he is tossing into the air lands on Giraffe’s head. Crocodile’s puppetry and Sheep’s balloon animal-making are equally unsuccessful in making Giraffe laugh as is Frog’s attempt at using funny faces. Even Ladybug’s playing a guitar while holding flowers in her mouth fails to evoke even the suspicion of a smile from Giraffe. However, when Giraffe looks at the now sad faces of his friends, the question changes: “Will Giraffe cheer up his friends?” The previous responses of “No” or “Nope” now become a “Yes!” as Giraffe accidentally falls into a muddy swamp, an action that causes everyone, including Giraffe, to laugh. Leung closes the book by asking its readers: “How do you cheer up your friends?”

Scholastic has identified Giraffe is Grumpy as a “LEVEL 1 READER” characterized by “Sight words, words to sound out & simple sentences.” Leung’s animals are rendered in a cartoon-like style and are generally presented on a simple background.