West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

This was recommended to me, and somehow I didn't manage to find the magic in it. One hundred and five-year-old WWII vet Woodrow Wilson Nickel realizes his days are numbered and urgently begins writing down his memories of traveling from New York City to San Diego with a pair of young giraffes. They are headed to the San Diego Zoo, which is starting to build it's animal collection to what becomes a world renowned zoo. Most of the book takes place in October 1938. America is still reeling from the effects of the Great Depression and the dust bowl that devastated the heartland. Woody was then a 17-year-old orphan from the Texas panhandle who has fled the dust to live with his uncle in NYC. A powerful hurricane leaves him orphaned once again. That same hurricane hit the ship the giraffes were traveling on and left the female giraffe with a wounded leg. Really, it’s a miracle the giraffes survived at all and that just added to their mystique. The giraffes are celebrities, a bright spot in a grim world, and the press adoringly chronicles their cross-country journey. There are a surprising number of hurdles to overcome when transporting very large animals over a very large distance, and you can imagine some of the regional challenges that might come up, all of which are not surprisingly overcome, but are heart stopping at times. Lots of people loved this book and I liked it well enough.