West with Giraffes | 
pickBook #21 of 2025: “West With Giraffes” by Lynda Rutledge
Incredibly well written. Based on a true story but told from a fictional character‘s perspective, Rutledge imagines the journey two giraffes made from New York City to San Diego in 1938. It‘s poignant and heartbreaking, but also full of loving warmth. If you‘re looking for a read that pulls you in for hours then this is the book for you.
We do not care that we are a day late for #wdncw because sometimes it happens that way.
We did not care that it took the entire trip around the lake to hear one story, because the tangents were delightful.
We especially enjoyed watching a squirrel run up a tree, taking stops for selfies and checking the birdsong app, and finding a giraffe teething ring hanging from a branch.
#Sep2025 Review! Favorite is West With Giraffes! Ten books for the month, 1 poetry, 1 book fulfills requirements to complete TWO reading challenges, 4 nonfiction, 2 stories (perhaps 3) based on true events, 2 by foodie authors, 2 children‘s books, 5 mention pie; only 13 books to read to reach my 💯 books by year end! Happy October Dear Friends 🌟
pickYep, I cried. 🥲 I thought this was almost too intense at times! I was so concerned for “the darlings” even as I KNEW that they would make it all the way cross country on treacherous roads from NYC to San Diego. This one touched my heart good. Now I need to go see giraffes!🦒
#Sep2025 Book86 Audio 🎧
📸 borrowed off the local zoo FB page
Just a lil sip of prosecco as I update all my book sites with latest reads… #audiobook 🦒🦒🦒
Wow! This book starts with a bang 💥
June was a big reading month for me, with eight books finished and several really good four star novels, my favorite is tagged but What Kind of Paradise is a very close second!
pickI read this for book club, and honestly I was a bit reluctant about it, thinking it might be rather boring, but what a wonderful novel!! I am so glad I read it, this is why I love book groups, bringing novels into my life that I otherwise wouldn't pick up. 4.5 stars, this book made me laugh and cry and I loved it. 💜
"The land you grow up in is a forever thing, remembered when all else is forgotten, whether it did you right or did you wrong."
"Hitler had seized Austria and was now wanting a chunk of Czechoslovakia, promising peace if he could have it. The spooked Allies handed it right over, believing in fairy tales told by a madman."
Next for book club. #FirstSaturdayReaders
pickI‘ve always thought giraffes were pretty amazing creatures, but I never fully appreciated their magnificence until I got to meet two of them up close.
This is a captivating tale that beautifully illustrates the extraordinary influence and transformative power of animals on our lives. Every aspect of this book enchanted me.
For the complete giraffe story and full review abookandadog.com/blog/west-with-giraffes
I'm trying hard to read multiple books a month this year and hopefully I'll be able to follow through so I can complete a book bracket. It will be a small amount of books to pick from a month but still fun none the less. West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge was my favourite read in January. I will never forget the characters from this book.
Note: Not my template - off pintrest.
#ReadingBracket #ReadingBracket2025 #BookBracket2025 #BookBracket
pickThis was a nice coming of age story about a boy who has no one and nowhere to go. It was a lighter, quick read and I felt connected to the characters. Mostly fiction, as the only real historical fiction is the giraffes being driven across the country. But it was nice to see that story become a story. Giraffes humming is probably my favourite fact I learned.
#JumpStart2025 #DoubleSpin @Lizpixie @TheAromaofBooks
I plan to spend a cozy evening for #hyggehourreadathon by starting West With Giraffes with a hot tea while the cold stays outside. Starting my #DoubleSpin before my BookSpin since it's a library book and I'll have to return it in a couple of weeks. This is a perfect way to end the weekend and reset for the week after the kids are in bed!
@TheBookHippie @Chrissyreadit @AllDebooks
My #AuldLangSpine match is @Loanne
📕I've only read one off the list.
I'll have a tough time choosing which to read. 🤔
This Litsy event is among my favorites - glad I made the cut this year!
Now that I live in NC, the winter weather provides a great reason to stay indoors & read. ❄
In particular, I like beginning & ending each day with a book - if only a few pages.
☕My reading is usually accompanied by a cup of tea.
so-soThe historical aspects of the story were interesting, but the writing wasn‘t for me. Too many repetitive descriptors and unbelievable dialogue. It was so much like Water for Elephants but without the compelling characters. Books like this that are loosely based on a real historical event, but add in dramatic back stories for the fictional characters tend to lose my interest. I‘d usually rather read a nonfiction account of whatever happened.
pickSweet, coming of age story about escorting two giraffes across the country during the Great Depression. Based on a true event, this book provides a small glimpse of life at that time and is a nice read for animal lovers.
pickSuch a sweet book! Inspired by news clipping from the 1930s, this is the fictional story of a 17 year old dust bowl refugee who ends up driving 2 giraffes from the east coast to the San Diego zoo. It‘s a little light in some aspects, with a lot of very convenient plot points, but super enjoyable and great characters.
pickPicked this for 30s dust bowl for #bookedintime and whilst starting and finishing late I LOVED this book. It‘s a story of an orphan on the bridge of adulthood who finds himself talking his way into driving 2 African giraffes across the states from New York to San Diego. A road trip in the best tradition of both adventures en route alongside a deeper story of growing self awareness and acceptance. and giraffes! ⬇️ @Cuilin
pick#BookedInTime 1930s Dust bowl June 2024
@cuilin @dabbe
I love all the different covers I found for this book.
#CoverLove
Based on true events...
1930s road trip with a couple of giraffes, a teenage boy (Woody) and a curmudgeon. (old man) I flew through this one.
pickA delightful story about 1930‘s America and a cross country trip with two giraffes. The vision of America in the 30‘s is quite depressing. But good story.
pickMy friend chose this for our book club this month. I had never heard of it and didn‘t know what to expect. I loved it so much! The story was beautiful and just made me feel good to read it. I am an animal lover, so the references in the book about the beauty and majesty of the giraffes really spoke to me. I enjoyed reading the transformation of the main character, Woody, and The Old Man and Red too. The Darlings were the real stars, though.
pickI absolutely loved, loved, loved this book
I've been wanting to read this book for quite some time 😁😁😁
My best book of April was West with Giraffes, which I read with my IRL book club. 🙂
#12Booksof2023 @Andrew65
When you forget your commute book at home so have to pick up a new book
pickGiraffes are my favorite animal, so I couldn‘t WAIT to read this book. Look how pretty it is underneath the cover! What a great story; strong-willed, damaged characters coming together to triumph over a 3,200 mile journey. This was a fascinating piece of historical fiction.
pick🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Road trippin giraffes meets Grapes of Wrath only more joyful.
A wonderful coming of age story about the long road trip from New York to San Diego carrying 2 giraffes to the zoo during the dust bowl era
Meet young Woody NIckel and his adventures across the states hitching a ride with to get 2 giraffes to the San Diego zoo. Such colorful characters and lovely life lessons and a fierce love of animals can get you through anything. 🦒🦒
so-soThis was really quite good, but was way too long. I had to skim often. The ending had me in tears, though!
⭐️: 3/5
pickI‘m a sucker for a Depression era coming-of-age story, throw in a couple giraffes traveling ocean-to-ocean across the Lee Highway riddled with history and I‘m a goner! I stacked of this book after piles of well-deserved Litsy love so it seemed a great choice for my May #BookSpin category: Litsy Stacked. I purchased the ebook on sale but as I walked by a LFL last week this physical copy was telling me to choose the giraffes for my BS read!
pickA well written story about an orphaned teenage boy who accompanies two giraffes on a cross country road trip during the 1930s. Based on true events. A strong sense of time and place, and an insightful look at depression-era culture and society.
#NoBuyReadingChallenge @PuddleJumper
#ReadYourTBR @melissajayne
I felt like I did a fair amount of reading in February, but I didn‘t finish a lot. I have better books still in process, but tagged title was the best of the ones I finished this month. It was a library book group discussion in Feb and is my neighborhood bookgroup title for March, so I guess that‘s fair.
pickGo on a great adventure transporting giraffes across the country and you won‘t regret it. Wonderful story I highly recommend.
Hoping to read this over the weekend so I can tag along with hubby to his library bookgroup on Thursday. Our neighborhood bookgroup just selected this for the March discussion, so it will be worth the push (while doing laundry and packing!) #weekendgoals
My mom‘s best friend (affectionately known as Mom2) has been on me to read this since probably last summer. 😂 I‘m finally listening. It‘s sweet so far, I love Woodrow. 🥹🥰 #westwithgiraffes #lyndarutledge #historicalfiction
Today‘s book on the couch with Gatsby.
I‘m reading & listening to this book for my IRL bookclub, and I realized my chairs look like giraffes!!! 🦒 🪑 🦒
#FriendsWithBooks
pickA story told by a 100 year old man about his depression era adventure druving giraffes across the United States. Sweet coming of age story with memorable characters. 5 🌟
Miracle Giraffes Ride Hurricane at Sea
#firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl
bailed
