Drawing inspiration from South Africa, where she's originally from, Paxton offers an imaginative story about a dark-skinned girl who accidentally animates a giraffe she draws on the pavement in chalk. To her surprise, the giraffe is forlorn, grumpy, and pushy, demanding change after change to the girl's drawing. Before long, the girl grows impatient with his demands and erases her creation, but in a fit of regret, she draws her friend again the next day, and this time, he has something to teach her about his reality. Giraffe is eager to show her what the world "from up here" looks like, teaching her a valuable lesson about seeing the world from a different perspective. Lötter uses bold colors and thick lines on a dark background in her artwork, which nicely echoes the girl's chalk art, and though the verses in Paxton's lyrical text don't always scan, the bouncy rhythm is a lively counterpoint to the bright illustrations. The helpful message about learning to see things from others' perspectives is useful, too. For larger collections.