This was a lovely book following two giraffe friends as one helps another navigate through the savannah while their head is stuck in a cloud. It has adorable pictures and nice repetition that would engage any child. I am curious to see how the lift-the-flap aspect will be in the physical book as the proof was a bit difficult to imagine. Something that I enjoyed about this book is that it can lead to fun activities with children around the importance of following directions. It also emphasized the idea of trust within friendships.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an adorable book. The pictures are wonderful and so is the story!

Torla and Smorla and the Lower than Average Cloud is about two friends who are different from each other but rely and trust each other through their journey. This was a cute story to read with young children.

We enjoyed the illustrations and watching the ever-changing climate. It was also fun and unique to see the taller pages due to the taller-than-average giraffe. We found reading aloud to be a bit of a fun tongue twister with the unique names and above and below average descriptions.

Students felt like the book was a bit short and repetitive. They also thought it was funny and clever, especially the part where Smorla brought out the taller-than-average umbrella. They were confused why everything was ______ than average, although some felt that was funny! They wished it was longer and more details on each page. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A cute book about Torla the giraffe who encounters a lower than average cloud and gets their head stuck in it. Their friend Shorla must come to the rescue as they navigate the rest of their walk. While the premise of the story is great I found it a bit too repetitive and wordy in some sections.

This is the story of a tiny little girafe and a tall tall one. The context of the story was super cute: the tall girafe getting stuck in a cloud and having to trust her friend to go anywhere, but I found that the test was too repetitive and that the story could have been exploited better. It was also so short that nothing could really happen. The drawings were phenomenal though. The colours, the situations in which the animals were, the details… fantastic.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Torla and Smorla and the Lower than Average cloud is a fun and whimsical story.

The tall format of the book made for a creative and interactive way to experience Torla’s perspective of having her head stuck in a cloud.

We found it most fun to read out loud, with our tongues tripping as we tried to read about all the above and below average elements of the story.

The illustrations were bright and cheery, and brought out the characters of the different animals they passed - our favourites were the yoga crocodiles.

With nice messages about being a helpful friend and learning to lean on others, this was a cute read.

Thank you Quarto Publishing Group and NetGalley for this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

What a fun story with charming illustrations about a taller than normal giraffe, Torla, and his friend Smorla, a smaller than normal giraffe. When Torla gets his head stuck in a cloud that eventually rains on him, Smorla helps him navigate their walk without incident. An important tale about friendship and the ability to give compassion and support.

A fun little story about a giraffe with her head in the clouds.
Lovely illustrations. I found it a bit hard to follow but I think that is due to the online format and I'm sure it will be a great book in published form, with open up pages, great to share with younger children.

A cute book about helping a friend navigate obstacles in the jungle. Smorla helps Torla navigate obstacles throughout their walk. Smorla provides descriptions of object sizes as larger or smaller than average, using adjectives to describe their shape and texture.

We love Kes Gray books in our house and I'm sure we'll be adding this one to our collection when my daughter is a little bigger.

A very tall giraffe gets a cloud stuck on their head and a small giraffe has to help them over obstacles. The detail of the pictures is fantastic, definitely ones children will like.

It's hard with a digital copy to see how the flaps work (there are up flaps, single page flaps and both pages open flaps, I think). It'll be good to see the real thing!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you again to Quarto Publishing for the ARC of this book!
It’s simple, short, and sweet. Something kids would have fun with. As a librarian, when I read children’s books I always think about the interactions I can have with kids during storytimes and I can think of a few for this one; stretching our arms to be taller than average just like Torla or squatting down to be shorter than average like Smorla.
I think kids would also get a chuckle out of Torla stepping over the various animals in their path while Smorla just walks right over them like a hill.
The art style is also very cute and cartoony.

I'm not a fan of the adjective "lazy" in a children's book used to describe lions lounging. The whole concept of laziness is based on ableism.

Beyond that, this was illustrated so cute! I like how it's a tall book. I don't know that it'd be something I could read to my nieces, however, because I'd have to explain why clouds don't do that IRL & why.

It's a silly story concept that teaches atypical sizes, and that's good for the people who need or want something like that. I've never seen a kids' book that taught that. :)

"Torla and Smorla and The Lower Than Average Cloud" by Kes Gray is a funny book about a giraffe stuck in a cloud and friends helping them. It was hard to read as a digital copy as it is meant to be a flap book. It is a cute concept that should work well as a physical book. Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC.

How nice it is to have someone to help us, who understands us, and gets us through rough times, even when it means to have a cloud covering our eyes... in need to walk larger-than-average paths among lazier-than-average lions. Very creative and super fun. The format is fantastic, the book is tall rather than square or wide. A read that puts a smile on our faces. The elephant page is delightful.
Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this e-arc.

Cute story about the importance of helping others. A little difficult to read in digital format but would be cute to read aloud in print format.

In true Kes Grey style, another book that is brilliantly simple yet hugely funny and entertaining. This will make a fabulous read aloud.

A lovely picture book that highlights the importance of being kind and helpful to others. It's clever and funny and I can see this being loved by children. This needs to be enjoyed a physical copy, however, as the lifting the flap nature of the book wasn't successful in electronic format.

A fun children’s picture/fold book. It has giraffes, some children’s favourite animal. Maybe a book just to enjoy reading with a child, the text is playful. Don’t think the story has a moral outlook, though the tall giraffe has its head in the clouds, and the short giraffe gives helpful advice to help avoid obstacles. This is the first pop book I’ve read on a kindle. Surprise, surprise it didn’t pop up at all! So a book to be purchase and enjoyed hands-on in paper/hardback. Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group - Francis Lincoln Children’s Books and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

A cute, quirky book with the comic repetition of the phrasing "lower than average...". It's about friendship and trust. Fun, yes, but not ideal to read on a digital format due to the style of certain pages.