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Summary
Summary
In this wondrous book by award-winning fantasy author Jane Yolen and award-winning fantasy illustrator Doug Keith, two children and a dog explore the coves and caves of a tiny island. Under the watchful eye of Grandpa, the kids are thrilled to discover a huge surprise: the craggy rocks, tufted grass, and wind-swept trees on Giant Island are much more than they seem. Jane Yolen's text entrances readers with hints of age-old magic, and pays tribute to mystery, curiosity, and friendship. Doug Keith's paintings invite readers to discover the giant secret for themselves. Visit Giant Island, where fantastical adventures await.
Author Notes
Jane Yolen was born February 11, 1939 in New York City. She received a bachelor's degree from Smith College in 1960 and a master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts in 1976. After college, she became an editor in New York City and wrote during her lunch break. She sold her first children's book, Pirates in Petticoats, at the age of 22. Since then, she has written over 300 books for children, young adults, and adults.
Her other works include the Emperor and the Kite, Owl Moon, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and The Devil's Arithmetic. She has won numerous awards including the Kerlan Award, the Regina Medal, the Keene State Children's Literature Award, the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, two Christopher Medals, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards, the Golden Kite Award, the Jewish Book Award, the World Fantasy Association's Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Association of Jewish Libraries Award.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
Horn Book Review
Approaching Giant Island in Grandpa's motorboat, Ava and Mason wonder why the small island has such a name. Grandpa says it's always been called that: "That's what my grandpa told me." The children explore the island while Grandpa goes fishing and discover a cave "dripping with mystery." Next, they jump into the water, noting that there "seemed to be magic everywhere" (the illustration shows the two floating in giant bubbles beneath the water's surface). From a rocky ledge they can see the entire island: "Mason, look! The whole island is a giant!" By wielding perspective and scale in playful ways, Keith provides visual clues along the way: a stone that serves as the giant's eye, moss that looks like its hair, and rocks under the water that form a giant's affable face. The rocky ledge is the giant's extended arm. Yolen fills the text with the children's excited dialogue, which gives the book a lively tone; when Grandpa whispers as they leave at sunset, "Always good to see you, old friend," readers know his intention was to give his grandchildren the same thrilling adventures he had as a child. The contrasts in the opening and closing endpapers celebrate the power of imagination to make magic. Julie Danielson September/October 2022 p.74(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The wonder of childhood comes alive…literally. When Ava and Mason and their dog, Cooper, visit Giant Island with their Grandpa, they can't figure out how it got its name; it's a tiny island where no giant could possibly live. But Grandpa says it's always been called that, even back when he came there to fish with his own grandpa. As he fishes from the shore, the two children and their dog explore, finding a cave teeming with ocean life, stones "shiny as mirrors," and a great spot for swimming. As the kids round the island, observant readers will start to see what they haven't noticed yet: The whole island is a giant: the trees, hair; the cave, an ear; and the stones, eyes. Yolen and Keith could have stopped there--lots of islands are named after what they appear to be. But no, the magic of Giant Island is that this giant is alive and moving, their arms and fingers pointing, grasping, their facial expressions changing. And while Grandpa may pretend not to know what's going on, he and the giant share parting words and a wave: "Always good to see you, old friend." Keith's gouache and colored pencil illustrations wonderfully suit the seaweed tufts and tightly packed rocks of the island and the ocean life that surrounds it. Grandpa and Mason have light skin; Ava's is slightly darker. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Childhood magic shared with a new generation. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
The prolific, award-winning Yolen crafts an ingenious magic trick of a book here, where a big part of the fun is catching on to what the protagonists are standing on and exploring long before they do. A boy and a girl row out to a tiny circular island with their grandfather. As the grandfather fishes, the kids wander around the lush, tufty space and climb down into a cave filled with boulders and sea creatures. As the illustrations zoom out from the island, readers see that the landmass is gradually rising, revealing a giant eye within a craggy face and, below the surface, a giant blowing bubbles for the kids to play in. The illustrations, done in gouache and colored pencils, are wonderful in conveying a seemingly naturalistic surface into a magical one. This giant is a friendly one, and readers will want to return again and again to see how the slow reveal is pulled off. Delightful.
