Ask a Giraffe

Giraffes and librarians. They have a lot in common. Seriously.

by ForeverOtaku Click to link to artist!

by ForeverOtaku
Click to link to artist!

Both can reach high trees and shelves to find important sustenance for body and mind. Both have a way of seeing the big picture; giraffes with their long necks and librarians (even the short ones) with their far-reaching research chops. Both have ways of effectively defending themselves; giraffes with swift kicks and librarians with the swift truth. Take that “alternative facts!”

Not Today!

Not Today!

And, of course, giraffes and librarians both love their children!

giraffe_kiss

Unfortunately, giraffes and librarians both have one more thing in common. They are both endangered. Even though the link between well-staffed school libraries and higher school test scores has been thoroughly documented, school libraries across the United States continue to fall behind in needed funding and school librarians continue to be “phased out.” The world needs giraffes and civilization definitely needs librarians. More than sixty-five percent of all incarcerated inmates are classified as having a low rate of literacy. Librarians matter. Librarians kick back at the lions of ignorance and do everything in their power to educate children and gift them with the power of literacy.

In honor of giraffes and librarians, and in keeping with the promotion of April as both “Library Month” and “Poetry Month,” here is a poem for our beloved giraffes and librarians. Enjoy and pass it along to your favorite giraffe or best-loved librarian:

Ask a Giraffe  

Art by Julia Collard Click for link to purchase

Art by Julia Collard; Click for link to purchase

If you want to know

How the treetops grow

Or how it feels

To eat leafy meals

Just ask a giraffe

 

If you like the way

That dolphins play

And you’d like to be

Deep down in the sea

Go sail with a whale

Download from Dreamstime.com; click for link

Download from Dreamstime.com; click for link

 

If you want to unearth

Our earth’s ancient birth

Or investigate rock

From diamond to chalk

Sit alone with a stone

 

If you’d like to look

At a curious book  child_on_giraffe_head

And use your mind

To seek and to find

If you love to be

In the library

Then come sit with me

 

– Ruth Gilmore Ingulsrud

Teacher-Librarian-Author

BelovedOfBeasts.com

 

– Ruth Gilmore Ingulsrud