Does A Giraffe Ever Feel Small? by Madeleine Dodge

To contribute on a local level, they decided that half the proceeds would benefit Reading Partners of Colorado, which provides one-on-one tutoring to improve children’s reading ability.īut, Wischmeyer says, “we didn’t want to forget that…change can be international and local,” especially because the illustrations of Does a Giraffe Ever Feel Small? include savannah scenes and textiles with African-influenced patterns. The two divvied up the research responsibilities, looking for literacy-promoting organizations that were transparent and allocated donations directly. Both friends’ volunteering experience (Wischmeyer through the Colorado Young Leaders organization and Dodge through her IB program’s emphasis on service) and desire to give back prompted them to make the book a charitable venture. They got the ball rolling during junior year. The idea of collaborating to turn that poem into a published book had lingered in the background of both students’ minds since the start of high school, but “it took us a while to even think we could do it,” recalls Dodge. Despite moving churches and attending separate schools for all but one brief year, the bond stuck.ĭoes a Giraffe Ever Feel Small? sprouted from a poem Dodge had written in eighth grade. The two women, who look enough alike to be sisters, actually started off as “forced friends,” recounts Dodge, brought together because their mothers were friends at Christ Church in South Denver.

“The goal is…to use a lighthearted, fun platform to address the idea that everybody has insecurities, but in the end, that’s what makes you special and different and unique,” says Dodge, who penned the 45 rhyming lines of the Does a Giraffe Ever Feel Small? (Wischmeyer did the vibrantly colored illustrations). Oh, and the cherry on top? Sales of their self-published story, Does a Giraffe Ever Feel Small?, benefit charities working to boost literacy. The recent high school graduates (Dodge from George Washington High School’s International Baccalaureate program, Wischmeyer from East High School), who have been friends since they were picture-book age themselves, wrote and illustrated a children’s book about embracing individuality.

Madeleine Dodge and Olivia Wischmeyer published their first book before they received their high school diplomas. Images courtesy Tulip & Petunia Publishing

Does A Giraffe Ever Feel Small? by Madeleine Dodge