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The Smartest GIANT in Town

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BfK No. 137 - November 2002

Cover Story
This issue's cover illustration is from Lian Hearn's Across the Nightingale Floor which is discussed by Clive Barnes. Thanks to Pan Macmillan for their help with this November cover.

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The Smartest GIANT in Town

Julia Donaldson
Illustrated by Axel Scheffler
(Macmillan Children's Books)
32pp, 978-0333961445, RRP £9.99, Hardcover
Under 5s Pre-School/Nursery/Infant
Buy "The Smartest Giant in Town" on Amazon

George the genial giant kits himself out with a smart new outfit only to find that the animals he meets on his way home all need his help. His new shirt becomes a sail, a new shoe a house for some mice, his sock a sleeping bag, and so forth. Feeling cold, George discovers his discarded shabby smock and sandals and puts them on again. Scheffler's stylish artwork creates an utterly convincing world in which George's size is unremarkable - there is even a giant's outfitters - as is a pig driving a car or fox in need of a sleeping bag. He adds delicious touches such as the female giant who eyes George with interest as he sets off in his smart new clothes and a rabbit talking earnestly into his mobile. There are also stories within the story as the animals tell of the disasters which have befallen them. Donaldson's plain yet rhythmic cumulative text and Scheffler's artwork complement each other wonderfully in this most accomplished and satisfying picture book.

Reviewer: 
Rosemary Stones
5
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