West With Giraffes

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Historical / Rutledge, Lynda	4-week checkout	On Hold Shelf
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Historical / Rutledge, Lynda	4-week checkout	In transit
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Rutledge, Lynda	4-week checkout	Due 05-06-2024
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Historical / Rutledge, Lynda	4-week checkout	Due 05-08-2024
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Historical / Rutledge, Lynda	4-week checkout	Due 03-30-2024
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Historical / Rutledge, Lynda	4-week checkout	Due 05-04-2024

"'Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes...' Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave. It's 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California's first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world's first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes. Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it's too late"--Publisher.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Fun read submitted by cldaniels on June 9, 2023, 4:25pm This was a sweet fictional account of a true event . A young man , without money or family, goes on a cross country adventure escorting two giraffes across the country. Fun characters and events.

Now I want a giraffe friend submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on August 20, 2023, 4:10pm This was a fun, light book that incorporated a little bit of Great Depression-era history (Dust Bowl, hobo cards, CCC/WPA, sundown towns, (lack of) women’s rights, etc.) into the baseline true story of two juvenile giraffes that survived a hurricane and then got trucked across the country to the San Diego Zoo. It was a fun and easy read, and I can see why it is so popular. Also, now I REALLY want to befriend some giraffes.