Here’s another picture book worth drooling over… “The Giraffe That Walked To Paris.” Based on the true story of a giraffe that was a gift to King Charles X from the pasha of Egpyt, this charming picture book is part of Five in a Row. It was one of the hard-to-find books on the list until Purple House Press reprinted it last year. Sanne and I pre-ordered our copies in 2012 and got them in 2013!
Since we “have been to France” several times already (through Ludwig Bemelmans’ “Madeline” and other books), we explored Egypt and the African continent. Here are some of the things that we did:
Played A Board Game
The giraffe that was given to the French King came from Egypt, which is in Africa, home to some of the world’s beautiful wild animals. We learned about the wildbeest, cheetah, giraffe, chimpanzee, etc. from the tube book “Africa Wild!” We used to carry some sets over at our online book shop but have ran out of stocks already. It’s a game board that comes with a fact book and a lot of animal miniatures. Board games are truly a great way to learn!
Built A Wind Vane
La Girafe traveled from Egypt to Marseilles, France via the ship “Two Brothers.” We talked about how the ship was able to reach its destination with the help of the wind. We built a wind vane from a science kit I bought at the Manila International Book Fair last year and used the compass that came with it to learn about North, South, East, and West.
Dressed Up (And Walked) Like An Egyptian
Little T gobbled up the book “I Wonder Why Pyramids Were Built,” a book about ancient Egypt, and was spewing all kinds of information that she read.
To get her more into the story, I invited her for a make-up session and put a lot of eye make-up on her. It definitely made her day! (Sorry for the cropped photos below, as I am not comfortable sharing my kids’ picture on the Internet.)
We also thought of how to make a “toga” for her, like the one described in the book. We used two pieces of lampin (cloth used as diaper) , tied the ends together, and dug into our costume box for a necklace. Instant Egyptian!
Made La Girafe Travel From Egypt To France
La Girafe travelled to Marseilles before walking to Paris. Her long travel inspired us to set up a simple scene of a giraffe walking from the pyramids of Egypt to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Kids love miniature props during storytelling!
Nothing beats a beautifully told and magnificently illustrated children’s picture book to inspire learning, don’t you think?
Make magic!
