The only problem with this book is that they never show the device Sophia builds at the end!! :oS Gah! Just, why??? This is my first time reading a picture book with a legit anticlimax. My disappointment at not seeing the giraffe-snore-transforming machine, in anything other than the blueprint stage, was of such magnitude that I clicked the review button for the first time ever on this site just to vent my spleen thusly. But, NEwayz. I guess that shows you though how high the story built my expectations up to that point. The beautiful art style, the endearing, consummately professional and/or curmudgeonly adult characters, the simple story that manages to be whimsical and sweet without ever condescending to its readers, and best of all, the biracial STEM-savvy heroine and her catastrophically adorable pet giraffe named Noodle - all of that makes me impatient for the day my niece is old enough so I can read this to her. Sophia is the best best friend a giraffe could ask for. She's unfaltering in her dedication to finding Noodle a way to be accepted by her whole family, which no I'm not sobbing you're sobbing. Plus, readers of all ages can learn exciting new vocabulary words, like "perdurably," and "ossicones." ( )