Jeff Giraffe The Great Escape

By Amelia McInerney & Alexandra Colombo

Reviewed by Margarite Igras

Amelia McInerney has written several funny stories for young children, each with endearing characters, engaging storylines and appealing titles, such as The Book Chook (CBCA Notable Book), Who Fed Zed, and Neil the Amazing Sea Cucumber. Her latest book, Jeff Giraffe: The Great Escape, is another humorous story which she wrote because, in her words, humour can help make books more appealing, and help kids better engage with books.  Together with the bold bright illustrations by Alexandra Colombo, this book is bound to appeal.

Jeff the giraffe shares his enclosure at the Fox River zoo with lovely Jan. They are happy, but Jeff always dreams about what lies beyond the zoo enclosures and has hatched several unsuccessful escapes. When he notices a hole in the fence, he contacts his friend Roger the seal on the walkie-talkie, asking for help. Roger, I reckon I’ll fit, if I BREATHE IN a bit. A trip to the park is my dream!  Unfortunately, Jeff’s neck gets stuck in the fence, he crashes the zookeeper’s car, and is stung by not a bee but a tranquiliser dart. Amazingly, on Jeff went, groggy and bent to the playground that gleamed in the dark, only to discover, there was a pool with waterslides, waiting for his next planned escape.

The rhyming text is cleverly colour coded with Jeff’s words yellow, lovely Jan’s pink, and Roger the seal’s dark purple. There is a variety of font sizes that will enable the reader to use hilarious exaggerations especially when the tranquiliser takes effect on Jeff’s speech. Some walkie-talkie protocol used in the storyline such as Roger, 10-4, Code Three, and Copy That, may lead to further informative discussions. A fun and entertaining story for 3- to 7-year-olds.

Larrikin House 2024