Giraffe and the Pelly and Me ANNOTATION
A small boy with a desire to own a candy shop meets a window-washing team composed of a giraffe, a pelican, and a monkey and together they go to work for the wealthy Duke of Hampshire, who makes all their dreams come true.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
When Billy joins the Ladderless Window-Cleaning Company, he gets a lot more than a new job. First he makes three new friends, then it's time to get to work cleaning all 677 windows of the Duke of Hampshire's house. The Duke is not only the most wealthy man in the country, he's also the most generous. Can he make Billy's lifelong dream come true? "A captivating story and a wonderful read-aloud."-- The Horn Book
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
The masters of wackiness dish up a giant portion of literary and artistic wit in this saga of T the Ladderless Window-Cleaning Company. Ages 7-10. (May)
School Library Journal
Gr 1-4 Blake's frenetic watercolors are quite appealing, but they do not redeem this slight story. A little boy wandering by a deserted old grubber (sweet shop) notices some movement within and meets the owners of the Ladderless Window-Cleaning Co. The building's new tenantsa giraffe, a pelican and a monkeyhave hardly introduced themselves to the lad when a chauffeur-driven limousine arrives to invite the glass-shining team to clean the 677 windows of the Duke's house. After demonstrating their cleaning finesse (and catching a burglar in the process), the three are rewarded with edible gifts and an invitation to live with the Duke. Young Billy receives the renovated sweet shop stocked with candies of the world, which Dahl describes in detail. The charming illustrations surrounding the verse beg to climb off of the oversize pages. Perhaps the effect would be smashing as an animated cartoon, but the minimal plot development makes this an extremely weak book. Susan Scheps, Bertram Woods Branch Library, Shaker Heights, Ohio
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