Great story about teaching kids that although they are getting bigger, stronger, taller, it is always okay to ask for help. Love the illustrations though the story seemed a bit wordy.

This cute book about Gary the Giraffe is all about him learning to ask for help when needed. It does not matter your age, everyone needs helps sometimes. The story is about Gary turning 6 and finally being able to reach the leaves of the tree for a snack. But he is just a little short, even though other giraffes his age are having no problems. My main problems in this book are the illustrations. They are lovely, but the illustrator chooses to illustrate the animals standing on 2 feet in quite a few pages. And especially for the giraffe, he he chose to stand on his two hind feet like he does to pull the wagon, then he would already be tall enough to reach the tree, and the lesson in this book is defeated before the reader makes it to the end.

Giraffe Asks For Help is a cute picture about Gary the Giraffe. He has just turned 6 and is so excited because now he will be tall enough to get the greenest leaves from the Acacia tree. When Gary heads out to give it a try, things don't go as planned. He still isn't quite tall enough but Gary thinks he should be able to do and doesn't want to ask for help. Until his friends tell him that they all have to ask for help sometimes too, no matter how old they are. This is a good book for kids who are gaining more skills and independence and want to do it all themselves.

Cute little Book about an independent giraffe who learns to ask for help. The note for parents at the end was also nice. Lots of discussion prompts and help on modeling appropriate behavior and how to discuss these issues with your child. My child isn’t really into ebooks, but I will seek this one out in hard copy form because it has a good message.

This book provided by netgalley in exchange for honest review.

I read the book "Giraffe asks for help" to my 3 year old daughter. She could follow the plot and did laugh and ask questions throughout the story. Although the point of the story is a good one, I did not really enjoy reading this book. The artwork is colorful and fun. It is an ok book, not awesome but not terrible.

Gary is turning six, and he is excited to finally be able to reach the leaves on the tree that he wants to eat off of. But he has a major problem. Every time he tries to reach the leaves, he falls over. He tries a bunch of different ways, but until he asks his friends for help he will not be able to reach his goal.

Great book for kids learning to ask for help, and finding different ways to reach a goal. Perfect for young kids!

In Giraffe Asks For Help, we follow a young giraffe named Gary who has just celebrated his 6th birthday. As he is clearly now a big kid, he is determined to be able to do everything on his own. Unfortunately, he's not quite tall enough so is unable to reach the best leaves without help.

After he has a few failed attempts, his friends convince him that asking for and accepting help is something everyone has to do sometimes. I like the idea behind the message, but for me the story fell a bit short. I was surprised when Gary's father didn't offer to help him, and instead just said they could try again another time. I could also see some kids taking this message the wrong way. Gary was almost discouraged from continuing to come up with possible solutions on his own.

I think this will be a great story for some kids who are specifically having trouble asking for and accepting help when they need it, but I'd be cautious about reading this to a child who is too reluctant to try new things and reach for goals.

3 stars for this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Magination Press for providing me with a DRC of this book.

Such a cute book! My kids loved and enjoy reading it alone. Kept them interested and they loved it! Their ages are 8 and 5.

This book is about a giraffe who wants to be independent, but realizes it's still okay to ask for help from his family and friends. The book has an important message that just because peers can do something does not mean you are ready, which is a positive message for children who might be a little behind and are struggling with that fact.

Gary the giraffe turns 6 and learns the important message of asking for help when you need it.

I read this to my 5 year old and it kept her attention. She said she liked it :) I thought the message of the story was important because my daughter is miss independent. We’ve been working with her to ask for help so this was perfect!

A young giraffe is finally turning six. Six is a big deal for giraffes and he will be able to do so much more. He's not able to do it on his own, but with the help of his friends he can accomplish anything.

Giraffe Asks For Help (4 stars)

***First I'd like to thank NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review***

Previewed this book myself and then read it to my 5 year old daughter to gauge her reaction to the story.

Really liked the illustrations and theme behind the book which is what drew me to it. My daughter is at the stage where she wants so much to be independent, yet she doesn't exactly know when to ask for the help she needs or the fact that it's okay to do so.

After one read and about 10 or 15 minutes later, she was referencing the book. 'Like the giraffe... sometimes you need help, no matter what age!' That tells me that the message is getting across, as intended.

Illustrations are cute, was impressed at the language choice of the author-- word choice will help build vocabulary skills and appeal to a number of ages. Only criticism is I actually found the font selection a little small. Would have liked larger font size for better readability.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Magination Press for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. Cute children's book. Good graphics Asking 4 help is ok! 4.5 stars

This book shows Gary Giraffe on his 6th birthday. He is finally old enough to eat from the acacia trees by himself. On the way to the trees, Gary and his dad say “Hi” to everyone and they all wish Gary a happy birthday. To Gary’s disappointment, when he tries to reach the leaves, he is still not talk enough to reach. He is humiliated. He tries a couple of ways to reach the leaves but fails every time. Then Gary’s friend, Tye, suggests that he asks for help. Gary is embarrassed and doesn’t want to ask until the others tell Gary about times when they need help. With the help of his friends, Gary is finally able to reach the sweet leaves and eats so much he thinks he will bust. He falls asleep that night knowing that if he ever needs help he just has to be willing to ask.

Cute book with great illustrations and a timely message. The characters are drawn as fun, friendly characters. The lines are bold and clean. The colors are bright.

Children so often today feels pressured to do and be perfect. This is a book with a simple message about asking for help that is makes it seem like the obvious thing to do. There is no one bullying Gary for not being able to reach the trees. It is his internal perfectionist that causes his humiliation and embarrassment.


I received an ARC from Magination Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book.

Cute book that encourages children to ask for help. Asking for help is a very important lesson for children. The book uses wild animals to teach the lesson of asking for help and to show that everyone needs help from time to time.

Our kids loved Gary! Gary the Giraffe is six and is determined to reach the acacia leaves high up in the tree. He tries and tries but he still can't reach. Our kids enjoyed seeing Gary's real disappointment about feeling frustrated, especially when a lot of his other friends had no problem reaching the leaves. It can be so hard when thing feel harder for you when everyone else seems to not have any trouble at all.

Gary's neighborhood friends see how Gary is feeling and share that they ask for help with many things no matter what their ages. It was great to see the de-stigmatization of "asking for help" and was a great reminder that both kids and adults need help sometimes.

Gary's friends work together to help him reach the leaves and it was great to see the teamwork and pride they had for their friend Gary when he reached his goal. This was a delightful book to read with our kids and it was beautifully illustrated.

Thank you to NetGalley, The American Psychological Association and Magination Press for a copy of this book. All opinions are our own.

Whoever said parenting was going to be easy? There are so many things to teach your little one and I am not just talking about brushing up their teeth and doing up the buttons. There are some essential life skills that we need to help children learn: saying sorry, disagreeing without fighting, knowing when to let go and when to ask for help.
Gary Giraffe has just turned 6, which he is very happy about—he is finally growing up. Gary is still a bit uncoordinated and quite short for his age. When he tries to reach for the greenest shiniest leaves from the top of an acacia tree, he falls down and is very upset. Gary tries different ways but the leaves remain elusive. His friends tell him that, although they are older than he is, they ask for help when they need it. With help from his friends, Gary succeeds and learns a valuable lesson in life.
Children will find it easy to relate to Gary. The story is simple but the message is very important. It is all right and even natural to ask for help- you do not have to struggle alone.
The book also has notes for parents and caregivers with further suggestions on how to encourage, model help-seeking behaviour, and develop empathy.
Thank you to NetGalley and Magination Press for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

Giraffe Asks for Help was a well-written, adorable illustrations and an even better message. I loved this one. I cuddled up with my niece and read through it a couple times, because we were both so in love with the story. Not only is a Giraffe one of the best animals EVER, he goes through some challenges and understanding of when to ask for help. Is asking for help shameful? Embarrassing? You’ll find out in this cute story. Highly recommend!

Gary is a side character in The Lion King and nothing you say can change my mind. 💁🏼‍♀️🦒 

Gary is a young giraffe who is just trying to learn how to giraffe. It's difficult some days okay... All his friends try to tell him it's alright to ask for help when you need it but does he ever figure it out? Well you'll have to read the book to find out! 

I love Gary and I think he should be in every school and library. 📚💕 

Sooo, when does the Gary merch come out because I need a new stuffed giraffe to add to my collection? 👀 

***Thank you Netgalley and American Psychological Association and Magination Press for this cutie.***

Gary Giraffe is turning six and thinks that he will now be able to reach the sweetest leaves on the Acacia tree. What happens when he can't? How does he feel?

This is another in the series from the American Psychological Association. It is written to de-stigmatize asking for help. There is a good lesson here for kids: it is okay to ask and others will help.

As always in the series, there are helpful suggestions for adults at the back of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for another helpful entry. I wish that these books had been around when my children were little.