Book Club

Join us for a discussion of West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge.

Woodrow Wilson Nickel shared the dream of so many 1930s Panhandle farmhands: to get to California. He had no idea he'd eventually make the journey in the company of two giraffes. The Dust Bowl eventually sends Woody to New York, to work for a distant cousin. After a hurricane rips through the East Coast, two overseas shipping crates survive intact and reveal the most unique cargo Woody's ever seen: two giraffes. With some quick thinking and fast talking, Woody lands himself a gig as the pair's driver, joining their keeper in delivering the giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. A stubborn photographer joins them, and the group travels across the country, gaining plenty of press and getting into a few scrapes along the way. Rutledge's (Faith Bass Darling's Last Garage Sale, 2012) larger-than-life story about the power of both animal magnetism and human connection is based on true events. Fans of The Night Circus (2011) and How the Penguins Saved Veronica (2020) will adore the witty, charming, and heartwarming West with Giraffes.

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.