West With Giraffes (by Linda Rutledge)

"Few friends have I known and two were giraffes...."

Woodrow Wilson Nickel is 105 years old and he feels his life waning, so when he hears that giraffes are becoming extinct he recalls a memory he must share before there is no one left to share it.

"Time heals all wounds they say. I'm here to tell you that time can wound you all on it's own. In a long life, there is a singular moment when you know you've made more memories than any new ones you'll ever make. That's the moment your truest stories -- the ones that made you the you that you became -- are ever more in the front of your mind, as you begin to reach back for the you that you deemed best."

The year is 1938. The Great Depression lingers; the heartland is recovering from the dust bowl; Hitler is threatening Europe; and Americans are looking for a bright spot in an otherwise grim world. They find it in two giraffes.

These two young giraffes have survived a hurricane crossing the Atlantic and they are now embarking on a 12-day road trip across the country to become Southern California's first giraffes. The female giraffe has an injured leg and it is a wonder they have survived at all. Americans are fascinated with the giraffes and the press chronicles the cross country journey. [side note: Rutledge interweaves actual article clippings into her novel]

With a little bit of luck and a lot of storytelling, 17 year old Woody finds himself driving the truck. What follows is part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming of age love story. Inspired by the true events of the giraffe transport and the first female zoo director, Rutledge weaves fictional characters into the mix, including a gruff old man with a past, a boy who has been orphaned by the dust bowl, and a young female photographer with a secret.

My Verdict: I generally enjoy coming of age stories and I enjoy animal stories, so this one was especially sweet for me -- a coming of age story that demonstrates the positive effect caring friends and gentle animals can have on a young man's life. Giraffes are some of my favorite animals and I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between the giraffes and Woody, as well as the female photographer. I fell in love with the giraffes and was actually a little sad when they got to the zoo. I also enjoyed the descriptions of the journey west and the characters they met as well as the historical lessons about the dust bowl and its impact on families. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, including the revelation at the end of who he is really writing this story for and why.

I give West With Giraffes 5 stars

"It is a foolish man who thinks stories do not matter -- when in the end, they may be all that matter and all the forever we'll ever know."

Get More Information About the Hurricane Giraffes

Visit Linda Rutledge's website for more background information about the story as well as the writing process.

Also, check out this article on Zoo Histories that talks about the book and adds historical background to the story (and more pictures).

You can also watch this video on the Hurricane Giraffes.