The spiffiest giant in town

When George the giant spies a shop full of wonderful clothes, he decides to treat himself to a new outfit. He puts on his new shirt, pants, shoes, and tie, and is immediately transformed from the scruffiest giant in town to the spiffiest giant in town. But on his way home, George runs into various animals who need his help. And little by little, George finds himself giving away all his new purchases.
From the creators of Room on the Broom, this is a lively tale that reminds readers that sometimes it's what's inside a person-or a giant-that matters most.

Author Notes

Julia Catherine Donaldson was born on Sept. 16, 1948 in London. She is a British writer and playwright and the 2011-2013 Children's Laureate. She is known for her rhyming stories for children. These include: The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom and Stick Man. She began writing songs for children's television but has focused on writing books when the words of one of her songs - A Squash and a Squeeze were made into a children's book in 1993. She has over 180 published works with 120 of them intended for school use and include her Songbirds phonic reading scheme, which is part of the Oxfird Reading Tree.

She has won several awards including: The Stockport Book Award for her title The Troll, The Oxfordshire Book Award for her title Zog and The Oldham Book Award for her title Jack and the Flumflum Tree. In 2015 The Gruffalo made The New Zealand Best Seller List.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 3-In a place where giants and "regular sized" people coexist peacefully, George has a problem. He is "the scruffiest giant in town" until he finds a new clothing shop and buys himself some new duds. However, his days of being the spiffiest giant in town are numbered because he is so kindhearted. As he sings a little tune to himself about looking so fine, he runs into needy creatures. Soon George has given up his striped tie to warm a giraffe's neck, a shoe to house a mouse family, his shirt to a goat that needs a sail for its boat, and so on until he has to retrieve his old rags. Finally, he is offered a crown and the title "the kindest giant in town" by his appreciative beneficiaries. Scheffler's brightly colored, animated cartoons, done in pencil, ink, watercolors, colored pencils, and crayons, are perfect for this offbeat story of generosity. Good for collections needing books about being kind to others.-Bina Williams, Bridgeport Public Library, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

Like Donaldson and Scheffler's previous collaborations (The Gruffalo; Room on the Broom), this humorous story makes a first-rate read-aloud. Scheffler's vibrant, almost radiant illustrations conjure up giants, people and animals who inhabit a sort of fairy-tale British village-a place where it seems normal for a giant named George to wear monastic-style sandals on his hairy legs and a patched, yellowing gown. And when George emerges from a new tailor's shop in sartorial splendor, with his hair slicked back and his pants creased, he gradually gives away each article of his new clothing to a series of creatures in need-and reverts to his scruffy style. Donaldson's rhyme is both catchy and cumulative: "My tie is a scarf for a cold giraffe,/ My shirt's on a boat as a sail for a goat,/ But look me up and down-/ I'm the spiffiest giant in town!" A mouse's-eye view of the giant foreshadows the article of clothing that will serve as the mice's new home, and children will especially enjoy the picture of George forlornly sitting on the curb in undershirt and red-and-white polka-dotted boxers. The book's joie de vivre and the characters' droll camaraderie will almost certainly prove infectious. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Publisher's Weekly Review