Memily

Serendipity

by Stephen Cosgrove

The other jungle animals make Memily the giraffe self-conscious about her size, until a meeting with another giraffe convinces her that she is just right for the kind of animal she is

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Kids

32 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 1987

Reviews

[Anna]

I can honestly say that Memily was a life-changing book for me... Only those who both know me and have read the book will understand, but it was. She gets sole credit for my excellent posture in middle school. ;)

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might be more fond of this one if I'd read it as a kid instead of coming across a copy as an adult. The moral on the cover is: "Whether you're short, tall or medium, you're perfect just as you are." It's sort of a book about self-acceptance, although it's hard for me to pinpoint the actual message, because it concludes so abruptly.

Beautiful art yet again, from the opening image in the jungle with baby leopards wrestling while elephants play in the water in the foreground. And I always love when James draws bunnies - the gangly giraffe Memily's playmates before they decide she's far too tall to safely chase them around the jungle.

Memily is one of only three giraffes in this jungle for some reason: it's just her and her parents. And as she gets older, she literally outgrows all her potential playmates, from the bunnies to even the elephants. Embarrassed and lonely, she takes to hiding in the trees (her parents never show up again; I'm not sure what happened to them) until a random other giraffe happens along to tell her that she should just be herself and stop trying to pointlessly hide her height.

I would've liked it better if Memily had found other friends who weren't exactly like her. For instance, the monkeys were quickly dismissed because she couldn't climb trees, but wouldn't it make sense that her height would put her at face-level with the monkeys as they were swinging through the trees? And the birds landing on her head and then flying away laughing - why couldn't they, fellow tree-dwellers, have found something in common with her?

I like the self-acceptance component of the story, of course, but it also seems like it's saying that you can only befriend and associate with others who are exactly like you, which is both a troubling message and something that doesn't seem to fit a lot of Serendipity stories.

[Edward Sojuwa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover of this oddly titled book feels ominous to say the least: "The moral of this story is: whether you are short, tall or medium, you're perfect as you are."
We've all heard this lie before.
In the real world Nicole Kidman makes millions by virtue of being tall. Peter Dinklage makes millions by being dwarfish small in films. The rest of us: too medium for the real world.
And still we're fed with the same Fred Rogers bullshit.
Memily by Steve Cosgrove is no exception, sad to say.
Memily is a giraffe trying to fit into the jungle world without much success because boy those giraffes do grow up fast. (Geoffrey the giraffe from old Toys R Us ads doesn't wanna grow up cos.... eh, you know the rest.) After much self pity she meets another giraffe who tells her that giraffes are like that in nature: tall and gangly as nature intended. Awww, too bad! Memily won't feel so safe soon as the cheetahs catch up.
This book makes me feel kinda....small.
Two stars
Just another forgotten Memily of days gone by.

[Arwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

SHORT IS SHORT
TALL IS TALL
YOU ARE WHAT YOU ARE
THAT IS ALL!

Memily feels too tall. She can't play with the other animals, and no matter how hard she tried she always seems to stick out. Having been a tall clumsy child I can empathize with Memily. It's nice to see a children's book that deals with your own issue. (However, the way the book handles the bullying of Memily by the other animals isn't so great.)

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cute book about loving what makes you different.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Mr Cosgrove Serendipity Book is about a baby Giraffe finding her rightful spot in life. Learning this moral of this story "Whether you're short, tall or medium, you're perfect just as you are." As she grows up she tries to play with her friends around her but they all get mad at her because she's so much bigger than they are. She can't help it. She tries to crumple her legs and neck to make her shorter but of course that doesn't work. But then one day she meets another giraffe that helps her see that she is perfect just the way she is. And as it says in the back of the book "Short is short and tall is tall. You are what you are, and that is all!"

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Serendipity book about being comfortable in your own skin. The moral of this story has some overlap with Flutterby but could be a good segue into discussions on body image for grade school kids.

[Ilana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series of books is the most wonderfully illustrated, sweetest series available for children. Each book is beautiful, the animals are so sweetly drawn and each book teaches a wonderful lesson. I still have all of my original copies from my childhood (the 90s).

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not as sure I read this one as the others, but the cover looks very familar and I am fairly certain that I read all of the ones my library had.

[Deborah Harris]

AR Quiz No. 67565 EN Fiction
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: LG - BL: 4.5 - AR Pts: 0.5
Accelerated Reader Quiz Type Information AR Quiz Types: RP

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A memorable, heart-warming story about self-love and accepting your body type just the way it is.