In Search of the Hidden Giant

A rich and challenging picture book in verse. Two children set off into the woods to find a giant; their imaginations gradually create him out of the trees and plants of the dense undergrowth. Eventually they thoroughly frighten themselves, running in terror into the sunlight where he doesn't seem so terrible after all. The brilliant trick of Ruth Brown's illustrations enables us to slowly create the giant as well; do we imagine him or is he really there? We're no more sure than the children. The language is complex and yet clear enough for a young child, while the conclusion, 'the less we see, the more I know our giant imaginations grow', has much to make the reader, of any age, wonder.