"My kids loved your book, Inviting a Giraffe to Tea" Michael Mubangizi said as we were starting our workday at Uganda Christian University. The young Ugandan father of two added, "the only problem is that they kept wanting to color the animals, which would have affected the beauty of the book." The seed was planted. Somewhere on the plane ride from Entebbe, Uganda, to Addis, Ethiopia, and then Washington, D.C., I got the idea that my hardcover book, Inviting a Giraffe to Tea, which was published in July 2017, should be supplemented with a coloring book. It made even more sense when I articulated the concept to my book's illustrator and designer. After all, six African animals in the book get along with each other regardless of differences that include color.

So, this coloring book is provided for the young and young at heart who dare to be different. These pages with facts and images of a giraffe, elephant, lion, zebra, rhinoceros and leopard beg for creativity. In addition to encouragement to add color not normally associated with certain animals, people, places and things, each black and white page has discussion questions as part of the voyage.

Embrace this journey, and enjoy the passage.