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. Maybe, like me, you have a story you want to share and make it come to life like Woody’s story comes to life in West with Giraffes. Watching the video is absolutely stunning. 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. The Oklahoman published a set of photos on the 80th anniversary of Black Sunday. There are many photos of dust storms from the 1930s online. You can see a map of it on this Tillman County Blog. The Lee Highway ran from New York City to San Diego. I also recommend that you listen to giraffes humming in this YouTube video (really just audio). To me the crates look somewhat precarious for mountain switchbacks and other rough roads. There are several viewable at, such as this one of a woman on the running board of the truck feeding a giraffe in the crate and this one of the crates being loaded with a giraffe leaning out the window of one crate. Regardless, it is worth checking out some of the photos that are online as they emphasize the absurdity of transporting two very tall giraffes in a truck across the United States. Rutledge didn’t include photos of the actual trip with her novel, perhaps due to the expense of copyrights, perhaps because she wanted to keep it as Woody’s story. There are many photos online of this time in history, below are just a few. I highly recommend complementing the book with photos and/or audio.

I recommend reading the book before the guide. Note that this guide, like all of the guides, may contain spoilers.

If you’re looking for a good read where you don’t need to think too much, except maybe to daydream about your own cross-country adventure, this novel is an excellent choice. 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. The author added a bit of suspense that could have been more well-thought out and sure, a 105-year old man couldn’t have reasonably written, let alone recalled, the events in the novel. As a reader I felt as if I were sitting with Woody, the Old Man, Red, Wild Girl and Wild Boy as they traveled west, feeling the giraffes snuffling, hearing their thrumming, watching them reach out for an onion. West With Giraffes, while an historical novel, reads as a beautiful memoir of one brief and eventful journey. Edition: Hardcover, Lake Union Publishing

Giraffes west book