Grace the Giraffe in Paris: Our new children’s book

A long time ago, in old Paris town,
A very tall tale was spreading around,
“Oh la la, have you heard?” the people would say.
“A massive giraffe is headed our way?!”

Two hundred years ago, a giraffe walked to Paris. And the local Parisians, who had never even seen a giraffe before, went absolutely wild with excitement.

This is the true story of a giraffe that started a Parisian craze, and we’ve told it in charming rhyme with beautiful illustrations. 

Here comes Grace the Giraffe, the main character from our new children’s book – which we’re about to release.

The actual true story and how we retold it

In 1827, the Egyptian King gifted a giraffe to the French King Charles X. When the giraffe got off the boat in Marseille, southern France, experts decided the best way to take her to Paris was on foot. 

So began a 40-day expedition through France, which kicked off an ever-growing frenzy as local French people saw a real-life giraffe for the first time ever. 

By the time she reached Paris, giraffe mania was at a boiling point, sparking a massive fashion trend, giraffe memorabilia, and unusual giraffe hairstyles. This all really happened!

This giraffe mania, plus Grace’s journey through France to Paris, is the focus of this children’s book, all based on the true story.

Each page of the story is delightfully illustrated by Lina. Children (and perhaps even adults) will enjoy finding hidden treasures, familiar Paris sights, and lovely re-imaginations of the City of Light. Is that a nod to a famous Monet painting? Did Eugène Delacroix really see the giraffe walk past his window? And could that last page truly, really, actually be what happened to change the face of Paris forever?

We retold the full story with plenty more details in today’s podcast episode, below. We also shared how and why we decided to turn it into a children’s book.

How to get a copy

The only way to get a copy right now is via pre-sales on this page’s online shop. Here’s a direct link to the book.

Here’s today’s episode again, in case you didn’t click it before.) Have a lovely week, you’ll be hearing more about Grace soon!