The Smartest Giant in Town

Bought for my grand daughter who loves this. She even fills in the words.Amazing book for young children. Highly recommended

My son is now 27 months old, and his language is continually improving. He doesn't understand every word and story I read, and can get bored of long passages of text (even in his favourite Thomas books!) but he really appreciates rhythm and rhyme in a story. I decided, after seeing a couple of her books last year, that now would be a good time to try Julia Donaldson.The story is simple enough - a giant tires of wearing the same old raggedy clothes and decides to smarten himself up with a new outfit. He is very pleased with his smart, new look. However he gives away the new clothes item by item in order to help others less fortunate than he, until his new outfit is almost gone! What will he do without it?Now this story is not written in completely the same style as her other books we have read - there is not the same emphasis on rhyming couplets throughout the story (aside from the Giant's Song which is developed throughout the book). However there is a beautiful rhythm all through the book, and it relies on a simple theme - "It's not what you look like, it's what's inside that counts".Educationally, there are a variety of animals to meet, each item of clothing plays a part and some interesting situations are come across, all in a very entertaining manner. My son also gets worried for the poor mice who have lost their house - a good sign that he is engaged in the story.All in all a lovely book, ideally for a child over 2.(*Note: this book contains no Giant Nudity, and is suitable for little giants.)

One of our new favourites.

Can this book quite match up to the most famous creation of it's authors? Perhaps not, but it has a good try.My children love, love, love these books and this one is no exception. Following a similar format to the gruffalo, this book is entirely in rhyme, and unlike some of the others that have followed on from the gruffalo this is one of their more successful creations. The giant is a lovable character, the rhyming couplets seem natural, and the whole thing just works.There are very few books as a parent that you actually enjoy reading to your children over and over again (you might love reading to them, but most of the stories eventually get old) Not so with the gruffalo, and not so with this either.I don't want to tell you what to do, but can I just mention, that this book is better when the parts of it that form the giants song are sung..... You don't have to, but the kids love it! So you might want to read it when there are no other adults around!

This is a really nicely presented book - it's got a metallic orange cover and special bonus pages showing 'the making of' this book by the illustrator and author.It's already one of my daughters favourite stories, so when I saw the 15th anniversary version going for a good price I bought 3 as I had some birthdays coming up for her nursery friends.I'm keen on this story in particular because at the heart of the narrative is a tale about altruism and selfless service to others who are in need. Putting the needs of others before your own in a great addition to the sort of moral compass I want to instill in my child while growing up. The best bit about the story is that this selfless giant is rewarded for all his kindness, as the community of animals he helped out rally round to gift him something special towards the end.A great moral tale.

I bought this along with 11 other Julia Donaldson Books(All Board Books). I did a lot of research before buying and building my 15 month old daughters first library along with Van Fleet, Eric Carle, Dr Suess etc. At first it was all about pictures then sounds then role play and now its the story in 12-13 months she has grown with these books and loves anything we introduce now. Each book has a 12-14 page story which gives you abundance of opportunity to spend quality time with your little one. Reading is just one of the things you can do with these. They are illustrated so very well with vibrant colours and end to end pictures that you have so much to explore if you introduce reading really young. I have copied some of the illustrations on to a A4 sheet given my daughter to color. Just buy when it says Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler together on a book.

Great story and beautiful detailed illustration. I braught this for my two years son. At first, he had a very complicated feeling for this book. He asked me to read it everyday, but he said he didn't like it. He felt terrible and confused about the giant giving all his clothes away (I guess it's his sharing issue). But after a month reading, he became to understand and love the giant very much. Now my son would like to offer his own room to the white mouse and his own sleeping bag for the fox! What a big change! Thanx Julia! And I also got the giant's active book. My son like it too.

This is a great book, that has a really nice rhyme and rhythm. The illustrations are great and it has a number of great messages: that it is better to be kind than to be smart; that it is ok to be as you are; and that it is a good thing to that people for their kind deeds. My 2 and 4 year olds love this story, and by this stage I know it off by heart, as it has been read so often!