70 pages • 2 hours read
Lynda RutledgeWest with Giraffes
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Introduction
Teacher Introduction
West with Giraffes
- Genre: Historical Fiction
- Originally Published: 2021
- Reading Level/Interest: College/Adult
- Structure/Length: Divided into chapters; approx. 371 pages, approx. 10 hours and 29 minutes on audiobook
- Protagonist/Central Conflict: West with Giraffes is a historical novel inspired by real events. It follows Woodrow Wilson Nickel, a Dustbowl orphan, and two giraffes on a cross-country road trip during the Great Depression. The novel explores themes of adventure, resilience, and the human-animal bond as Woodrow and the giraffes embark on an epic journey from New York City to California. Along the way, they encounter challenges and unexpected friendships.
- Potential Sensitivity Issues: Themes of historical hardship and the challenges faced during the Great Depression; suicide; occasional use of outdated, offensive, or racist terms in both the novel and paired texts; animal abuse
Lynda Rutledge, Author
- Bio: Contemporary American author known for her storytelling and ability to blend history, human connections, and unexpected journeys; writes fiction, nonfiction, restaurant and film reviews, and articles for national and international publications; has an MFA in creative writing and a BA and MA in American literature; often highlights the extraordinary of everyday life in her works
- Other Works: Woven of Water (2011); Faith Bass Darling’s Last Garage Sale (2012)
- Awards: Writers League of Texas Novel of the Year (2013); Texas Great Read (2023)
