This weird little board book won me over, despite my earlier reservations.

When you open the top flap on the cover, you will see the rest of the opening sentence "His neck is so amazingly long." and the giraffe, eyes closed, is completely revealed. Each spread shows a different arrangement of the giraffe's neck, along with some philosophical musing. When he curls into a spiral, readers know that can't be right because "He'd get dizzy!" How about coiled around a branch "like a snake?" Naturally, that would make his neck hurt. The poses get sillier and sillier, with other animals propping up the giraffe's head and increasingly ridiculous set-ups. In the end, there's no real answer - just a fold-out flap with the giraffe resting his head on a cloud and a final thought about the fun of imagination and guessing.

The book's two flaps are quite sturdy and easily reinforced. The book is a rectangle, about 4x8 inches. The giraffe, gentle painted in orange and gold, twists and curls through the pages occasionally set against trees, helped by other animals, and encountering other giraffes, but always staying the focus of the story.

This is one of those quirky board books that wouldn't interest most babies and toddlers, but would make a great intro for a storytime on guessing, inspiration for art projects, or fun for a family with children of different ages to sit down together and discuss. Some toddlers, who are developed enough to get the idea of imagination, will appreciate the silly poses and their caregivers enjoy suggesting even more ways the giraffe can sleep.

Verdict: While not a necessary purchase, this would make a fun addition to your board book collection to attract the interest of children who think on a little different level and those older children who are struggling with motor control and may tear the more delicate pages of picture books but still want challenging board books to enjoy.

ISBN: 9789888341412; This edition published 2017 by minedition; Borrowed from another library in the consortium