Books like Jeff Giraffe The Great Escape are my happy place and I got the idea for it on a SCBWI Sketch and Scribble day in Sydney.
The plan was to walk around Luna Park for inspiration but it was closed that day so we wandered along the harbour and ended up writing on the water's edge outside Luna Park.
I can't remember if I could see the zoo from where I sat or I just imagined it, but being 'locked out' and seeing the park from the outside was what sparked the idea for the story. Taronga Zoo was somewhere nearby (I came down from the Blue Mountains for the day- not a Sydney-sider!) and I wondered if zoo animals ever wished they could go somewhere - especially if they could see nearby attractions - but couldn't because they were 'locked in'. I first thought of making an amusement park the goal, but decided that a regular old playground would be a more relatable thing for kids to want to go to, and every kid always wants to go to the park! All of a sudden Jeff Giraffe was in my head, fully formed with his ever-optimistic outlook and 'go-get-your-dreams' attitude, and his bungled night-time escape attempt was born!
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