Giraffe and Elephant FAQ

How many Giraffe and Elephant books are there?
Currently, When Elephant Met Giraffe and A Surprise for Giraffe and Elephant are the two published Giraffe and Elephant books.

A Very Large Book of Giraffes and Elephants, a collection of the original “Giraffes and Elephants Are Friends” single-panel web comic, is also now available!

You can also buy it from CreateSpace. (I get more money that way.)

Why does “A Surprise for Giraffe and Elephant” say you live in Seattle, WA if you live in Edwardsville, IL?
It takes a long time to publish a book. I moved between the time the actual books were fabricated and the books were released.

Why would a Giraffe use an acetylene torch to build a toboggan? Aren’t toboggans made of wood?
The toboggan I remember having as a kid had a wooden body and a red metal scoop on the front of it. This is the type of toboggan Giraffe is trying to make. Your toboggan may differ.

UPDATE 14 December, 2014: I am visiting my parents and my father insists that the toboggan we had at our house had a plastic scoop, not a metal one. He says it is still in the garage. I dare not look. Again, Giraffe is making the toboggan I remember, not necessarily the one I had. Metal toboggans exist. A metal-wood hybrid is not inconceivable. Never underestimate the inventive powers of a Giraffe.

UPDATE 14 December, 2014, 9:30PM Central Time: Turns out my dad said the plastic scooped toboggan was in the barn, not the garage. We didn’t have a barn growing up. He and my mother moved across the road a while ago. He also mentioned the toboggan was red-and-white striped plastic in the front, it’s curved shape held in place by chains. The clear memory I have of a solid-red metal front is at odds with this, and I am wondering if we had two toboggans. This would mean a larger red-and-white plastic one that my father used and remembers, and a smaller one that I used. To further complicate matters, my father asked me if I was in fact remembering a toboggan at a friend or relative’s house. The search continues.

UPDATE 14 December, 2014, 10:05PM Central Time:

I found a picture of something similar to the front of the toboggan I remember, except the one I remember was red and didn’t have the wooden part on the lip:

NOTE: If you had a metal/wooden hybrid toboggan, please let me know!

What made you start drawing a Giraffe and Elephant?
One day, I drew my friend a picture of a Giraffe eating leaves. She thanked me, and said she liked giraffes ALMOST as much as she liked elephants. I told her that giraffes and elephants shouldn’t be in competition, that they should be friends. Then I drew a picture of a giraffe and elephant eating ice cream cones together. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be fun to draw a giraffe and elephant having fun together every day?” Whenever you think something like that, do it!

I want more Giraffe and Elephant books, a Giraffe and Elephant TV Show, Giraffe and Elephant T-Shirts, etc.
All of these things would be great, and are largely based on how well the books sell. So, buy the book for yourself, and as often as you can as gifts for others!

Where can I buy When Elephant Met Giraffe?
The links above take you to Amazon.com. The books should also be available in your favorite book store once they are published. For example, you should go and buy When Elephant Met Giraffe from your local book-seller immediately. If they don’t have it, they will be happy to order it.

How can I get a signed copy of your book?
At the moment, you simply need to see me and present me with a copy of your book and perhaps a pen. I’ll try to announce other opportunities when they become available.

Can I sign my copy of the book and pretend you did it?
You’d know the truth, and it would eat you up inside. Don’t do it.

Is it true that Giraffe and Elephant began life as a web comic?
Yes. Giraffe and Elephant were a web comic for more than a decade before they found themselves in book form.

When was the first Giraffe and Elephant comic published online?
Giraffe and Elephant first appeared on January 1st, 2001 on C-Realm.com. It was drawn in Photoshop with a mouse, a crude version of the Giraffe and Elephant we know and love with the words, “Giraffes and Elephants are friends,” written on the sky.

Are the Giraffe and Elephant comics still on the Internet?
I have a few in an archive linked in the “Old Comics” part of this site. I’m sure others are floating around the net.

Why doesn’t Giraffe say anything?
I am always surprised that more people don’t ask why Elephant talks.