Marcie and Giraffe

Marcie has made a picture of Giraffe and is so excited to show it to him, she loves it. Giraffe in return makes a picture of Marcie and now Marcie is worried that Giraffe’s art is better than hers. She proceeds to make a bunch of scribbly pictures that depict her feelings throughout the creative process. Will Marcie and Giraffe be able to continue enjoying creating art together?

What I Liked: This book begins with a cheerful tone as Marcie shows Giraffe her drawing of him then quickly shifts tones as she is disappointed that her art isn’t like Giraffes. It’s fascinating to watch as Marcie goes through various emotions and is able to work through them using art while Giraffe is patient with her. The relationship between Marcie and Giraffe is interesting as you see how they work together and are able to recognize each other’s strengths, and how those strengths compliment one another rather than work against the other.

The illustrations throughout this book are simple and go along well with the text included on each page. The illustrations help move the story along as you can see the expressions on Marcie’s face change as she tries to capture her feelings. The font also shifts throughout the book to emphasis certain words or to show how the characters are communicating.

Final Verdict: Marcie and Giraffe is a fun book to teach children how they can use art to work through their feelings with others. This book is perfect for story time and will keep young readers, ages 3 and up, engaged throughout the whole story. This book captures big emotions in a humorous and fun way, and highlights how children work through emotions to show that this looks different for everyone.

MARCIE AND GIRAFFE is a cute picture book about tough feelings. Marcie and Giraffe are making pictures of each other, but when Marcie sees Giraffe's picture is better than hers, she feels angry and upset. Marcie uses pictures to show how she is feeling, and then they begin to create anew in her new style. The story ends with happy friends and messy paintings.

What I loved: This book captures challenging feelings well. Through Marcie's paintings, she captures the upset feelings of a messy stomach, angry brain, and smoosh face. Children will relate to those feelings as well as not being as good as they'd like to be at a skill. The story also highlights how people may have different ways of doing things and have different skills that are all valuable.

The illustrations are simple but capture the story well. The colorful paint and paintings grow throughout the story as Marcie and Giraffe continue to create, adding visual interest throughout. The simple text keeps the focus on the feelings and images. With the white background, the text is very easy to read throughout, even in lowlight (bedtime) settings.

What left me wanting more: As a small thing, it would be helpful to help name the feelings Marcie is having so that children can understand this as well. However, caregivers can do this as they read and have children consider which emotions she is experiencing.

Final verdict: MARCIE AND GIRAFFE is an engaging picture book that delves into challenging feelings and friendship, great for preschoolers.