![\"by](\"http:\/\/ruth.ingulsrud.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/giraffe_librarian_by_foreverotaku-d6cl676-731x1024.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
<\/a>by ForeverOtaku
Click to link to artist!<\/p><\/div>\n
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!”<\/p>\n
![\"Not](\"http:\/\/ruth.ingulsrud.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/giraffe_lion_kick-1024x576.jpg\")
Not Today!<\/p><\/div>\n
And, of course, giraffes and librarians both love their children!<\/p>\n
![\"giraffe_kiss\"](\"http:\/\/ruth.ingulsrud.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/giraffe_kiss.jpg\")
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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.<\/p>\n
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:<\/p>\n
Ask a Giraffe \u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Art by Julia Collard; Click for link to purchase<\/p><\/div>\n If you want to know<\/p>\n How the treetops grow<\/p>\n Or how it feels<\/p>\n To eat leafy meals<\/p>\n Just ask a giraffe<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you like the way<\/p>\n That dolphins play<\/p>\n And you’d like to be<\/p>\n Deep down in the sea<\/p>\n Go sail with a whale<\/p>\n Download from Dreamstime.com; click for link<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n If you want to unearth<\/p>\n Our earth’s ancient birth<\/p>\n Or investigate rock<\/p>\n From diamond to chalk<\/p>\n Sit alone with a stone<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you’d like to look<\/p>\n At a curious book \u00c2\u00a0 And use your mind<\/p>\n To seek and to find<\/p>\n If you love to be<\/p>\n In the library<\/p>\n Then come sit with me<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Ruth Gilmore Ingulsrud<\/p>\n Teacher-Librarian-Author<\/p>\n BelovedOfBeasts.com<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Ruth Gilmore Ingulsrud<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Giraffes and librarians. They have a lot in common. Seriously. 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 … Continue reading ![\"Art](\"http:\/\/ruth.ingulsrud.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/reading-giraffe-julia-collard-239x300.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Download](\"http:\/\/ruth.ingulsrud.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/cartoon-whale-reading-zoology-textbook-illustration-63753308-300x290.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"child_on_giraffe_head\"](\"http:\/\/ruth.ingulsrud.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/child_on_giraffe_head-169x300.jpg\")
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