West with Giraffes is a heart-warming novel based on a true story. She had red curls all over her head, a fiery halo of raging waves she surely battled into submission every morning, and she was wearing trousersthe first woman Id ever seen doing so in real life. Just when Woody thought this crazy girl had stopped following them, the green Packard would come roaring into view. 1947. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. Just finished this wonderful book!! Over a year, it turned into this calculated mess. Have you ever had that feeling? Copyright 1999 - 2023 GradeSaver LLC. (Side note: these events occurred one year after young Nicky Arundel got his wish for giraffes at the National Zoo.). Its 1938. Giraffesan animal most Americans had never actually see for themselves with their own two eyes at the timehad actually somehow managed to survive a wild ride aboard the SS Robin Goodfellow when it headed straight into a typhoon off the coast of Haiti. Found your piece on the Giraffes through researching the question So, is it true? as our Buddy read group was working its way through West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge. National Geographic shared a 2-minute video of murmuration of starlings in the Netherlands with an audio track that is mesmerizing to listen to all by itself. We had us an adventure, didnt we, Woody Nickel? . It has a happy ending. Prior to becoming head keeper at the San Diego Zoo, he had been with the circus since he was eleven years old, including sixteen-year gig as the lead keeper of the Ringling Bros. circus. Two African giraffes, who barely survive the 1938 Hurricanewhile crossing the Atlantic, make it to New York City. He is arrested in Arizona and sent to fight in the second World War. On that trip we drove through the same passes in the Appalachians, drove along a similar route into San Diego and stopped in many of the same cities, (if not the same lodgings :), as Woody and Riley. New York: Scribner. Best for: 12 and up. 1997. It just hurts so much, animals are so innocent! Lynda Rutledges West With Giraffes is written in the first person point of view, and utilizes both past and present tenses. Benchley preferred to transport the giraffes by vehicle so that they could stop as deemed necessary to nourish and rest the animals. There is no real bluffing and nothing underhanded between Charley Smith and me nor is there between any of us; we are all working for one end, here in the Zoo, though perhaps by different methods. Don't wait. I Loved this book, and hated to see it come to an end. West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge. Fantastic, and such a good read. I finished the book last night and now after reading the background and seeing the pictures of the truck and the He is full of talk and wit and fun when he is around, but when away he makes me wait for news day after day until I am nearly mad from worrying. What happens thenwhat is the actual meat of the matter, as it wereis a cross-country trip via what amounted to little more than a tricked-out pickup truck from New Jersey to the San Diego Zoo. The giraffes were actually named Patches and Lofty and after surviving the tumultuous trip across the sea that saw their transport sail smack dab into a hurricane, the animals did indeed make the cross-country to the new home waiting for them at the San Diego Zoo. That was the plan, anyway, but the female giraffe had had enough of travel crates! With Woody behind the wheel, true to the actual events, the giraffe truck stopped regularly at auto camps under appropriate trees with the top of the crates open to let Boy and Girl reach up and browse. . (And New York would not experience one as destructive until Hurricane Sandy in 2012.) I also recommend that you listen to giraffes humming in this YouTube video (really just audio). And if you end up buying a copy, I'd be grateful if you. Along with the rhino, the food for the giraffes was lost as well. Wild Girl and Wild Boy are at the heart of this novel and throughout and directly in her Authors Note following the novel, the author shares her views of how we can be charmed and inspired by animals. One of those books that make you not want to even start another cuz. His parents and baby sister died in the Dust Bowl and Woody makes his way to New York City to find his only known/living relative, Cuz. West With Giraffes, while an historical novel, reads as a beautiful memoir of one brief and eventful journey. Amazon First Reads is where you can choose from a short list once a month to get a book for free. San Diego Zoo. How honest do you think the author was? I read through the books for that month and just could't decide honestly, NONE of them looked good to me. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Im so glad you enjoyed it! West with Giraffes is a wonderful novel based on the true story of the cross-country road trip America's first giraffes took in 1938. I have to say, though, that no matter what I write on this post, it won't do justice to this book. Did the ending answer all your questions? Besides the below book club questions, remember, the easiest way to be . How did it feel to create a new story? They gained an evolutionary trait so they could survive. 1997. I dont want this story to evaporate from my memory. Riley Jones, aka Old Man: head keeper of the San Diego Zoo. help you understand the book. He plots to try to follow the giraffes to California, which proves more difficult than he hoped. } Amazingly, one of the crew saw the female giraffe move, so they covered and protected her as the storm raged on. Book excerpt: 1938: The Great Depression lingers. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. The road to California leads straight through Woodys hometown of Arcadia, Texas. The past tense is used in Woodys recounting of the story, and the present tense is used in sections that describe Woodys writing process in the convalescent home. Other than the female hurting her leg in the hurricane, they are uninjured. An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America. .printfriendly.pf-alignright { It reminded me of The Green Mile (movie) where Tom Hanks' character is ridiculously old and he tells the whole story of The Green Mile to a woman at the nursing home where he lives. } I will draw a winner for the giveaway on March 19th at 9:00 AM ET and notify the winner by email. An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America. You need to read it yourself! A man from the zoo shows up to drive the giraffes across the country to the zoo, and that's where the whole adventure begins. "An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America. Train travel did not allow that freedom. A treasure for sure. And the novel is centered on Woody as he rapidly writes down his and Reds story because he feels its important to share with Reds daughter. fnaf 6 ending speech fnaf 6 ending speech (No Ratings Yet) . .fun to weave the book with your stellar research! As I looked for more historical information, I found your page. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the . My thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a review e-copy of this one. box-shadow: none; You can see a map of it on this Tillman County Blog. tells a story looking back at his youth of when he talked his way into helping drive a couple Giraffes from the East Coast to San Diego, California. That the animals survived at all was, as the headline rather politely insists, miraculous. Feel free to leave a comment! Animal Quarantine Station in Athenia, New Jersey, for a federally mandated fifteen-day quarantine. } Benchley recalled, I have never seen anyone so tired and relieved as Charley Smith when he drove the great awkward truck through the zoo gate, half an hour after phoning me from a suburb. Theyve seen the world. Upon hearing that the giraffes were bound for San Diego, Woody became determined to follow them to the land of milk and honey and begin a new life. They are all saved when Red wedges her car against the truck and prevents it from overturning. According to Benchley, they were one of the few breeding pairs in captivity. I really wish the book had included a photo of the truck that the giraffes were driven in, but I found this one online. I felt it worthwhile to let that go and just enjoy the ride as I was effortlessly transported on a cross-country drive in the autumn of 1938. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds . There are plenty of opportunities to learn the skill of storytelling perhaps you can take a class at your local library or from a local storyteller. I remembered that I had gotten a book recently from Amazon's First Reads about an elephant or giraffe or something. Two giraffes miraculously survive a dangerous Atlantic . . Charley Smith was certainly the man for the job. San Diego, CA: Zoological Society of San Diego. Building and using wood fired ovens, recipes, pizza, DIY, and forums. .wp-block-image figcaption {text-align: center; font-size: 75%}, As the country teeters between a depression and Europes looming war, a pair of giraffes, survivors of a hurricane at sea, left a wake of much-needed cheer while driven cross-country to the San Diego Zoo, where lady zoo director Mrs. Belle Benchley awaited.. He has no money, no possessions, and no real direction for his life. In the novel, Woody is able to stop chasing the truck as, after much begging and pleading, he is offered the driving job by Old Man after a falling out with Earl. "Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes". Hurricane Sweeps Coast. New York Times (September 22, 1938): 1, 1618. img#wpstats{display:none} I rode Miss Jim when I little every summer and even in her cage to feed her a carrot. I'll stop here, because I don't want to give anything away. Note that this guide, like all of the guides, may contain spoilers. -moz-box-shadow: none; They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. The writer is a master story-teller, a beautiful story about why stories are written and remembered. 2021. Official Guide Book of the San Diego Zoo. Lynda. THIS above was the one I described in, Value of such a historical novel for perspective of current hard times, The Dust Bowl and other ecological issues then/now and our part in them, Human's relationships with and obligation to animals (and other humans), Endangered/extinct species--why it matters: Old Man's sky-blanketing passenger pigeons (pp. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern Californias first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. 2021. 2016. @media screen { Stephenson, Lynda Rutledge. Romance. These giraffes, Boy and Girl, win the love and respect of Woody; the Old Man; and Red, a. /* If html does not have either class, do not show lazy loaded images. The following summary relies on the present tense. I had read about the true story of the famous hurricane giraffes when I conducted research for my story on Belle Benchley, but I thank Lynda Rutledge for writing this work of fiction, which left me with the desire to learn more about them. West With Giraffes Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to Determined to meet his cousin at that Brooklyn dock, he arrived only to find that his cousin was killed on board the Goodfellow during the hurricane. I enjoyed West with Giraffes too, and your review was a delight -- remembering the book once again. The Great Depression lingers. I Has it been made into a movie, or any chance it might be? I want to confirm my idea that Woody was the father of little Augie, who was the one who received his foot locker after his death with the porcelain gifaffe. One of the aspects of the novel I enjoyed the most was the depiction of Belle Benchleysweet but tough, and highly respected. 1999. I see a message that, "This form can only be viewed by users in the owner's organization.". As Riley tells Woody, animals know the secret to life. page 79. and later watching the murmuration of the birds beside the road, the 105-year old Woody writes, For two full hours, my sideview mirror was brimming with both birds and giraffes, framing it all like a picture, the giraffes long necks swaying along with the billowing birds, and each glance surprised me with what I can only describe as a jolt of joy. page 237. Sherr, Lynn. After reaching California, Woody steals a motorcycle and tries to follow Red back east. Which is why we're providing you with this list of top book club questions that will generate general discussion whether you're focused on nonfiction, a self-help book, a juicy historical romance novel, or one of Reese's, Jenna Bush Hager's or, of course, Oprah's favorites. Gawky Giraffes to Leave Athenia Today for Coast. Paterson (N.J.) News (October 10, 1938): 35. how many inches of rain did lincoln nebraska get; jojo script in japanese; 21 day weather forecast lanzarote puerto del carmen; When have you been so driven to do something that you felt like nothing could stop you? He resolves to follow them to California. There are many photos online of this time in history, below are just a few. So very touching and heart wrenching!! Thank you Lynda Rutledge for researching this story and writing this wonderful fictionalized account!! Sexton, Timothy. When he returns years later, he learns that Red died from her heart condition, but not before giving birth to a daughter, Augie Ann. I just checked and I got that book as a first reads book also, I will have to add it to my good reads list so I remember I own it. Initially they refused to leave their traveling carriers but were eventually lured out with onions. Schroeder was a former zoo veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo and would later become the zoos director after Benchley retired in 1953. While visiting his parents home, the flash flood threatens to topple the giraffe rig and kill Woody and the Old Man. I have driven across the United States several times including from New England to San Diego. -moz-box-shadow: none; I enjoyed West with Giraffes too, and your review was a delight -- remembering the book once again. As his life closes in on him in a convalescent home bed, Woody hears about the impending extinction of giraffes and punches the TV. San Diego, already a world-class zoo, opened their WPA-constructed Reptile House and a zoo caf. I eventually just chose the one called 'West With Giraffes', by Lynda Rutledge. Why or why not? What was merely an idiosyncratic story of yet another uplifting tale of survival in the harshness of the Great Depression becomes through the authors decision to handle it through the conceit of semi-fictionalization a story that speaks to our times as well as scientists inform us that we are the dawn of the sixth great extinction. margin-left: 6px; West With Giraffes, Lynda Rutledge "Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes" Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. ", "Rutledge brought to life a remarkable story that few know about, and tells it so beautifully as a plea for the preservation of the Earth's most exotic creatures", "Ms. Rutledge has spun a masterpiece. They were given names Lofty and Patches, the winning entries in a naming contest. best used midsize suv under $20 000; lia thomas swimmer ranking before and after. In Tennessee, Woody and the Old Man get the giraffe rig stuck in a precarious position beneath a low bridge and are unable to get it out by themselves. By: Lynda Rutledge. As Woody shares his story with the Old Man, the Old Man responds, Thats your first story, but it doesnt have to be your only story. FYI - the Google form doesn't appear to be working. poeticpoet 8 yr. ago Disheartened, Red buys a ticket back east in Phoenix to be reunited with her husband Lionel. 2, 86, 238) & Author's Note Treatment of Blacks in those times vs. now Treatment of women in those times vs. now Treatment of the very elderly Zoos vs. circuses--then/now (See Author's Note) Tolerance of lying and stealing in desperate times The unanswered questions about the Old Man's past and why the Author left us to wonder Red's "bucket list": The spectre of a weak heart/short life to fuel her culture-busting dream-chasing How childhood shapes us and how much power we have to change it My favorite: Power of storytelling (why Woody is writing his story and why it matters; see TED talk quote in Author's Note) Be sure to read the novel's Author's Note for points mentioned above--but also for overall spurring of discussion: I tell why I wrote it, how I uncovered the true story and especially about how/why today's best zoos have turned into conservation organizations. 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