A great little book for kids to read out loud or read along with. I remember having a pen pal when I was a child.

While I thought it was just ok. The art and story are very simple and nothing extraordinary. The main lesson, while kind of interesting in how it comes about, is how hard it is to know someone until you meet them.

My daughter, however, liked it and thought it funny. If given the opportunity, she said she'd give in 4.5/5 stars. If you're looking for a good book, though, I would recommend picking one up that both adult and child would enjoy.

This was such a cute idea and funny to boot! Giraffe is bored on the savanna one day, and sees an advertisement from a bored Pelican that the latter will deliver letters anywhere just for fun! So Giraffe decides to write a letter and send Pelican to deliver it to the first creature he finds over the horizon. Pelican first meets a Seal but Seal is also in the mail business so he passes it along to....Penguin. Penguin and Giraffe set up a pen-pal-ship and Penguin starts off by trying to explain what he looks like. Giraffe takes those details (two small feet, two small wings, black and white, and either all neck or no neck) and makes himself a penguin costume. When Giraffe gets the opportunity to travel to meet Penguin he wears his costume...to hilarious result! Naturally, he looks nothing like a penguin. But an instant friendship is born! (I did feel, however, that the story could have ended there and that the last chapter was a bit haphazard and unnecessary. It could have just been left open for sequels!)

Giraffe in Africa is bored. His friend Pelican has started up a mail service to give him something to do. Giraffe writes a letter to whomever is over the horizon. That turns out to be Penguin. Little does Pelican know how busy Giraffe and Penguin are going to keep him. The beginning of the book is slow, but keep going, it gets better and funnier. Penguin and Giraffe write letters back and forth getting to know each other with Giraffe trying to figure out what Penguin looks like. As he tries to dress up to look like penguin based on information from the letters, he looks funnier and funnier. Off he floats to Whale Island to meet his penpal looking nothing like a penguin. This is a great book to use with students in late primary or early junior classes when you are teaching them about letter writing. It would be great to set up a penpal program with other children from your own city or around the world. A good mentor text written in short chapter format with black and white illustrations. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.

I did enjoy this book but it was a fairly slow starter. As soon as the second letter came back the story really picked up and I enjoyed Giraffe trying to imagine what his pen pal looked like. 3 stars from me

How have I gone this long without reading this book?! The language and vocabulary in the first page was enough to hook me. The words transported me to the savanna and the sea. The imagery was beautiful and the story heartfelt and genuine. Apart from simply loving the storyline and characters, I could also see many curricular connections. The tale of boredom and loneliness and the friendships that blossom because of that, was addicting.

This is a welcome addition to any classroom or library and I will be sharing this with my own daughter. 'Yours Sincerely, Giraffe' is a story of discovery and friendship which spans continents. When bored Giraffe sends a letter out into the distance he doesn't know who will reply, enter Penguin. A friend like no one he has ever known, Giraffe asks Penguin questions to help him understand more about his new friend; what is a penguin?

This story encourages the discussions about differences in appearance, culture and environment. It is also interactive and children like to get involved in the telling and guessing at the questions that might be asked and the answers that could be offered.

I would certainly recommend this for schools and parents of young children.

This was a great story about a giraffe and penguin (two of my favorites) becoming friends. Cute pictures throughout. This is a fantastic bed time/chapter book. Highly recommended.

I delight in fun books for my kids. Yours Sincerely, Giraffe, was one of those. Megumi Iwasa, author, has done a wonderful job integrating words that are intelligent yet speak to a child's mind. Reading along to my three-year-old son was very engaging, and even at his age, he could understand what was going on in the story.

The storyline brought him in so much that he wanted to "read" it to me as well. He built on the giraffe's story, using the pictures to guide him. It was a very pleasant reading experience for both my son and me.

The illustrations by Jun Takabatake were adorable and felt childlike. They were so cute, and there were just enough of them to add to the story and keep my son's interest as I read to him.

I would highly recommend this story about a giraffe's adventures to find a pen pal. Along the way, Giraffe found friends and acquaintances that made his boring life interesting and colorful.

This book would serve as a great read-along to young preschoolers (read little bits at a time, of course) and would be appropriate for second graders to read with help.

We thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I think your young readers would, too.

Poor Giraffe, he just wants a friend. This book was really cute and once it got started, it became funny. I think a lot of children would enjoy the humor and story of Giraffe and his new friend. This would be a cute read before starting a penpal or letter writing unit.

'Yours Sincerely, Giraffe' by Megumi Iwasa with illustrations by Jun Takabatake is a cute story about a bored giraffe, a tolerant pelican, and a new pen pal.

Giraffe is bored. He usually is. He decides to send a letter over the horizon to anyone that can be found. Pelican is bored too, so he takes on the job, but the horizon is a long way away. When Pelican finally stops, he finds a seal who carries the letter to a penguin. The penguin has a whale for a professor. Thus begins a series of cute correspondence. We learn that while giraffes have necks, that is something that is harder to find on penguins and whales. Also, if you try to dress up like a friend you've never seen before, you will probably not get very close to looking like them.

It's a cute story with some cute illustrations. The letters in the book really feel like they could have been written by children. The lesson of reaching out to others, even those who are different from ourselves, is a beautiful one. Penguin and giraffe are very unlikely friends, but it just feels like it is meant to be in this story.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Gecko Press, Myrick Marketing & Media, LLC., and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

This funny little chapter book is about a giraffe who wants a friend and finds one as a pen pal, Penguin. Much of the book deals with a bit of mistaken identity, which the kids will find funny. I think it will be a good length for second and third grade readers. Teachers will also like it for the letter writing aspect and will be able to use it as a mentor text for writing.

Yours Sincerely, Giraffe by Megumi Iwasa is a cute story about one bored giraffe who decides to find a penpal. Of course, he does, losing his boredom and making several friends along the way. The simple drawing and text make this a read for beginning second grade reader while younger children would enjoy having it read to them. There is humor, silly misconceptions with a happy ending. It is a book that older children could quickly read but may be looking for more action and adventure.

A slight piece of whimsy, where a bored giraffe gets a bored pelican to deliver a letter to the first animal encountered beyond the horizon, and so sets up a pen-pal chain of correspondence with… well, that would be telling. I didn't take to the easy, scratchy black and white illustrations, but I guess there is enough in the short story to make it worthwhile – there's an advert for international friendship, harmony between those with differences, and so on, as well as a drolly entertaining book for the young.

Yours Sincerely, Giraffe tells the story of a bored Giraffe who becomes pen pals with a penguin via a mail carrying pelican. The story as a whole felt a little Roald Dahl-esq ,including the illustrations. Unfortunately, the story fell flat for me. It kept going off in different directions, and then jumping back on course without having explained why it just went where it did. It might have worked better if it were a bit shorter or a bit longer, either removing the off track parts or exploring them more.

I wasn't at all surprised to learn that this was a translation. While its largely comprehensible, there were a few places where the wording was awkward. More notably, the whole thing was a little on the weird side. There were all these little repeated lines that felt like they were supposed to be jokes but weren't actually funny. Maybe they're culture things or wordplay that was lost in translation.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.
The giraffe is bored. Girrafe decideds to write a letter to a penguin since he does not know anything about them. Then the story gets really long, far too long. It's a cute story but it goes on and on.

Giraffe is bored and decides to write a letter to anyone who Pelican can find over the African horizon. In fact, Pelican is pretty bored too and can use some excitement. Giraffe’s letter makes its way into the hands (or flippers) of Penguin who immediately writes back. Commence an endearing pen pal relationship as the two animals attempt to better understand each other and grow a new and comical friendship.

Geared toward high-level first grade readers to lower-level fourth grade readers, Yours Sincerely, Giraffe is a sweet and playful story about friendship, connection, differences, and learning. I laughed out loud as Penguin tries to find Whale’s neck and as they attempt to look like each other. Littler kids can enjoy the human-like and relatable qualities of the animals. Takabatake’s illustrations are simple and clean, helping to support Iwasa’s endearing text. Unfortunately I empathized with Giraffe, finding myself slightly bored. While Yours Sincerely, Giraffe is a great beginning reader chapter book, I found the plot a bit tedious and scattered in regards to each animal’s personal story. As a side note, this title was originally published in Japanese.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Myrick Marketing & Media, LLC/ Gecko Press for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

What a sweet little book! A fun giraffe becomes Pen Pals with a penguin, and since neither has ever seen the other animal, they start to guess what the other looks like! I definitely recommend this book for kids between 6 and 8, since it's easy to read, funny and fun!