Hello, friends! Our book today is I Am Not A Chair! by Ross Burach, a silly story of a giraffe with a rather specific predicament.

It’s Giraffe’s first day in the jungle, and he is excited to make new friends… just one problem. For some strange reason, the other animals keep mistaking him for a chair… and sitting on him. He tries to speak up, but the animals, not realizing their mistake, inadvertently impede his power of speech in various ways. He tries to build a chair (which looks TOTALLY different from him, FYI) that the animals can use instead, but it backfires: now they just think there’s two chairs. Giraffe has had enough, and he vows that the next animal he sees, he will declare clearly and firmly that he is NOT A CHAIR! But will he maintain that resolve when the next animal is a – gulp! – hungry lion?

Goofy and fun. Using a healthy dose of outlandish visual humor and a plot that serves mainly to set up the next punchline, this is definitely a story written with kid-friendly humor in mind. It’s possible that a lesson in speaking up is intended as well, but it sort of gets lost in the comedy – especially when Giraffe, finally having broken the other animals of using him accidentally as a chair, does the very same thing to a turtle. However, the good-humored silliness in the story and wide-eyed, cartoonish characters and illustrations are enough that any deeper message becomes arbitrary. The length is fine, and JJ enjoyed it. A solid read to share a laugh to, and it’s Baby Bookworm approved.