By Laura Cenge
“Inviting a Giraffe to Tea” is a book written by Patty Huston-Holm, who is a Journalist and Communications professional, from Canal Winchester, Ohio, USA. For her love of adventure, she has travelled frequently to Africa, and specifically Uganda to help with various writing projects primarily at Uganda Christian University, Mukono.
Patty’s inspiration for writing the book is based on her 2015 experience watching a group of giraffes that were being relocated from Murchison Falls National Park to Lake Mburo National Park. This is because the giraffes were over 1000 and they were feeding on the depleting Acacia trees.
Emotion filled her after watching these innocent creatures leave a habitat that they have now made and got to know as their home. This true-life event was the inspiration for her children’s book. The book has also been translated into two languages aside from English and that is Luganda, which is a local language spoken in Uganda, and Spanish which is spoken in the United States. Both of these languages are taught in schools in both countries.
The book talks about a giraffe that is invited for tea after randomly bumping into a conversation between a group of misfit wildlife – a lion who wants to leave his pride, a leopard feeling inferior, zebra asking too many questions, a rhino of a different color and a too-angry elephant. Forgetting what it was like when they felt they didn’t fit in, these five Ugandan animals at first rejected the “too tall” creature.
However, after a thorough discussion and pointing out the good and accepting differences in all of them, they decide to invite the giraffe to tea.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate this book at 10. This is because it brings out the theme of unity, and love and is a great book for young children from the age of three. It includes a parent-teacher guide and coloring book.
The author had planned to launch the limited-edition Luganda version in 2020, starting with 40 copies distributed at Bishop Primary School, Mukono. Then, Covid hit. On 13th of April 2022, she will donate 60 copies of the book at Kisowera Primary School along Kayunga Road.
Patty’s other two published books are true stories: “Shattered: A True Story of an American Teenager” about a once-popular girl who became paralyzed; and “Kid in the House” about an 18-year-old who won an election to the Ohio House of Representatives.
