The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me

Last updated

The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me
GiraffePellyMe.jpg
First UK edition
Author Roald Dahl
Illustrator Quentin Blake
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre Children's literature
Published26 September 1985
Publisher Jonathan Cape
Pages32

The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me is a 1985 children's book written by Roald Dahl [1] and illustrated by Quentin Blake. The plot follows a young boy named Billy who meets a giraffe, a pelican, and a monkey, who work as window cleaners.

Contents

Although the story is narrated in first-person by Billy, the word "Me" in the title refers to the monkey, who concludes every verse of his signature song with the phrase "the giraffe and the pelly and me".

Plot

The story is told from the point of view of Billy, a young boy who has always dreamed of owning a sweet-shop. His ambition is strengthened by the fact that there is an abandoned three-storey building named The Grubber, an old English word for a sweet-shop, near where he lives. One day, he finds that the old building has been renovated and has become the head office for The Ladderless Window-Cleaning Company. Billy then meets its members: a Giraffe with an extendable neck; a Pelican, or "Pelly" as he is called by the others, who has a flexible upper beak; and a singing and dancing Monkey, all of whom he quickly befriends. Having only recently arrived in England, all the animals are finding it hard to acquire the right food to feed themselves. This includes fish for the Pelican, especially his favorite salmon; walnuts for the Monkey; and pink and purple tinkle-tinkle tree flowers for the Giraffe (this is all she can eat, as she happens to be a "Gereneous Giraffe"). Billy and the animals all band together when they receive a letter from the Duke of Hampshire asking them to clean the 677 windows of Hampshire House. Things go smoothly when they get there until, while cleaning the bedroom windows of Henrietta the Duchess, the Giraffe and the Monkey spot a burglar attempting to steal the Duchess's jewels. The Pelican then flies in and catches the burglar, holding him prisoner in his beak despite the burglar's attempt to shoot his way out with his gun (this makes a hole in the Pelican's beak, but the Duke assures him that the chauffeur can patch it up). Soon the police arrive to arrest the burglar, whom the Chief of Police identifies as the "Cobra", one of the world's most dangerous cat burglars. As a reward for retrieving the Duchess's jewels, the Duke invites The Ladderless Window-Cleaning Company to live on his estate as his personal helpers. Since he is the owner of the only tinkle-tinkle tree plantation in England, as well as thousands of walnut trees and an enormous salmon river (the River Hamp), all three starving animals have found the answer to their dilemma. Billy's dreams also come true because the Giraffe, Pelican, and Monkey will no longer need the Grubber building; with a little help from the Duke, the Grubber is revived into the most fantastic sweet shop for miles around (among the sweets it sells are Liplickers and Plushnuggets from Norway, one of the “lands of the midnight sun”), and the story ends with Billy running the shop and The Ladderless Window-Cleaning Company continuing their business (and the Pelican's beak having been fixed). Billy gives each of his new friends special gifts: to the Giraffe, a bag of Glumptious Globgobblers, to the Monkey, a bag of Devil’s Drenchers, to the Pelican, a bag of Pishlets, and to the Duke, a bag of Scarlet Scorchdroppers. The Monkey, before leaving with the others, sings a little song to Billy (thus the ending).

Stage adaptation

The book was adapted and staged at the Little Angel Theatre, London in December 2015. Andrew Pulver of The Guardian described the play as "a perfect Christmas treat for children." [2]

Relations to other Roald Dahl books

Editions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roald Dahl</span> British writer and poet (1916–1990)

Roald Dahl was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide. Dahl has been called "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century".

<i>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</i> 1964 childrens novel by Roald Dahl

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka.

<i>The BFG</i> 1982 childrens novel by Roald Dahl

The BFG is a 1982 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It is an expansion of a short story from Dahl's 1975 novel Danny, the Champion of the World. The book is dedicated to Dahl's late daughter, Olivia, who died of measles encephalitis at the age of seven in 1962.

<i>Matilda</i> (novel) 1988 childrens novel by Roald Dahl

Matilda is a 1988 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It was published by Jonathan Cape. The story features Matilda Wormwood, a precocious child with an uncaring mother and father, and her time in school run by the tyrannical headmistress Miss Trunchbull.

<i>The Witches</i> (novel) 1983 childrens book by Roald Dahl

The Witches is a 1983 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. A dark fantasy, the story is set partly in Norway and partly in England, and features the experiences of a young English boy and his Norwegian grandmother in a world where child-hating societies of witches secretly exist in every country. The witches are ruled by the vicious and powerful Grand High Witch, who arrives in England to organise her plan to turn all of the children there into mice.

<i>Boy</i> (autobiography) 1984 autobiography by Roald Dahl

Boy: Tales of Childhood (1984) is an autobiography written by British writer Roald Dahl. This book describes his life from early childhood until leaving school, focusing on living conditions in Britain in the 1920s and 1930s, the public school system at the time, and how his childhood experiences led him to writing children's books as a career. It concludes with his first job, working for Royal Dutch Shell. His life story continues in the book Going Solo.

<i>James and the Giant Peach</i> 1961 childrens novel by Roald Dahl

James and the Giant Peach is a popular children's novel written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl. The first edition, published by Alfred Knopf, featured illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. There have been re-illustrated versions of it over the years, done by Michael Simeon, Emma Chichester Clark, Lane Smith and Quentin Blake. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 1996 which was directed by Henry Selick, and a musical in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gobstopper</span> A type of hard candy

Gobstoppers, also known as jawbreakers in the United States and Canada, are a type of hard candy. They are usually round, and usually range from 1 to 3 cm across; though gobstoppers billed as having a diameter as large as 3.25 in (83 mm) have been marketed.

<i>The Twits</i> 1980 childrens novel by Roald Dahl

The Twits is a 1980 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. It was first published by Jonathan Cape. The story features The Twits, a spiteful, idle, unkempt couple who continuously play nasty practical jokes on each other to amuse themselves, and exercise their devious wickedness on their pet monkeys.

<i>Esio Trot</i> 1990 childrens novel by Roald Dahl

Esio Trot is a 1990 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The title is an anadrome of "tortoise". It was the last of Dahl's books to be published in his lifetime; he died just two months later.

<i>Danny, the Champion of the World</i> 1975 childrens novel by Roald Dahl

Danny, the Champion of the World is a 1975 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The plot centres on Danny, a young English boy, and his father, William. They live in a Gypsy caravan, fix cars for a living in their mechanic shop and partake in poaching pheasants. It was first published on February 14, 1975, in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. and in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape.

<i>The Enormous Crocodile</i> 1978 picture book by Roald Dahl

The Enormous Crocodile is a British children's story, written by British author Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. A picture book written for younger readers than Dahl's other works, the story tells of a hungry crocodile who aims to eat human children via using various, not-quite-impenetrable disguises.

<i>The Minpins</i> 1991 childrens book by Roald Dahl

The Minpins is a novel by Roald Dahl with illustrations by Patrick Benson. It was published in 1991, shortly after Dahl's death in November 1990, and is the author's final work of literature. The book was republished in 2017 under the title Billy and the Minpins with new illustrations by Dahl's primary illustrator, Quentin Blake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miss Trunchbull</span> Fictional character

Miss Agatha Trunchbull, also known as Miss Trunchbull, or simply The Trunchbull, is the fictional headmistress of Crunchem Hall Primary School, and the main antagonist in Roald Dahl's 1988 novel Matilda and its adaptations: the 1996 film Matilda, the 2011 musical Matilda, and the 2022 film Matilda the Musical. She is said to look "more like a rather eccentric and bloodthirsty follower of the stag-hounds than the headmistress of a nice school for children".

"Muggle-Wump" the monkey is a fictional character in some of Roald Dahl's books for children, and "the Muggle-Wumps" are his family. A Muggle-Wump appears in The Enormous Crocodile and there is a Muggle-Wump with a family in The Twits. A Muggle-Wump lookalike appears in The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me. The first two stories have him almost as a symbol of retribution to the antagonists of the overall tale, whereas in the last one he is happy and safe.

<i>Side by Side</i> (Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges album) 1959 Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges album

Although it is billed as a Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges album, Side by Side is a 1959 album mostly under the leadership of Johnny Hodges, Duke Ellington's alto saxophonist for many years. Ellington only appears on three of this album's tracks. The album places Hodges at the fore, backing him with piano by Ellington or Billy Strayhorn and providing other accompaniment by jazz figures like Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, Harry "Sweets" Edison and Jo Jones. The album, a follow-up to Back to Back: Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges Play the Blues, has remained perpetually in print.

<i>Willy Wonka</i> (musical) Musical by Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley, and Timothy Allen McDonald

Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka, also known simply as Willy Wonka, is a musical with music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley and a book by Bricusse and Timothy Allen McDonald. It is based on 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. The musical was commissioned by Music Theatre International and is licensed for performance by amateur theatre groups.

Gipsy House is a house in the village of Great Missenden in the English county of Buckinghamshire. It was the home of the writer Roald Dahl and his family for several decades. The house is situated on Whitefield Lane, an old drovers' road on the outskirts of the village. It is currently privately owned but the writing hut is on display at Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">11 High Street, Llandaff</span> Semi-detached house in Cardiff

11 High Street, also known as Mrs Pratchett's sweet shop, is a two-storey residential building in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales. It was Catherine Morgan's Confectioner and Tobacconist shop in the early 20th century. It was converted into a Chinese restaurant known as The Great Wall around 2009. It is currently in use as a self-catering holiday let. The building is not a listed building, unlike others in High Street, such as St Andrew, St Cross, 6 High Street and 19 High Street.

References

  1. Fayyaz, Naveed (18 May 2017). "Book review: The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  2. "The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me review – a charming Roald Dahl adaptation for Christmas". The Guardian. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 29 February 2024.