I Am A Giant (Tiny the Giant) by Dom Conlon and Nicola Anderson
| I Am A Giant (Tiny the Giant) by Dom Conlon and Nicola Anderson | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: A story about self-belief which is also quietly educational and a lovely story to boot. Gorgeous illustrations. Dom Conlon popped into Bookbag Towers to chat to us. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 30 | Date: December 2013 |
| Publisher: Inkology | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-0922784607 | |
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Tiny knew that he was a giant. In fact you couldn't help thinking that he was a little bit cross about the fact that he had to keep telling people. He'd shake his fists and roar I AM A GIANT. Proof was important, of course and the first step was to measure his shadow, which he did when the sun was low - but it wasn't just one step. It was many and his shadow still ran on ahead of him. Off he went to tell the world, but the mountains were, well, dismissive and the tall trees whispered about it amongst themselves before they rejected what he had to say. The wind didn't agree either - and went on and on about it until Tiny ran away to the sea.
I loved this book. You can relate to Tiny - the little boy who is convinced that he's right, that he is a giant. He might be shaking his fists and shouting but you can see the little boy who's hiding inside, who can cry when he's hurt. And then that moment - it happens to everyone who is at all sensitive - when self-belief fades and harsh reality forces its way in makes you want to cry. You wanted him to hold on to that belief for just a little while longer, as you do with any child. But the sea is kind. The sea turns him round and makes him look.
The story is quietly educational. Any child - given a light behind - him can replicate the 'measuring the shadow' experiment and it opens the way to a lot of discussion about perspective and distance. That makes the book sound rather worthy though - and it's anything but. The illustrations by Nicola Anderson are gorgeous and entirely appropriate and there's a wonderful moment when those mountains became miniature Mountains in a mound of mud, miles and miles away. It's a wonderful, evocative use of alliteration.
It's a story which can be read time and time again and you'll find something new in the words or the pictures each time. It reads aloud well and can be enjoyed by the emerging reader too. They might need help with the odd word, but the pictures will ease their way a lot of the time - then they can feel like a giant too.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
If this book appeals then you might also enjoy The Great Moon Confusion by Richard Byrne or The Cautionary Tale of the Childe of Hale by Rachel Lyon and Vanina Starkoff.
Dom Conlon was kind enough to be interviewed by Bookbag.
I Am A Giant (Tiny the Giant) by Dom Conlon and Nicola Anderson is in the Top Ten Self-Published Books 2013.
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You can read more book reviews or buy I Am A Giant (Tiny the Giant) by Dom Conlon and Nicola Anderson at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy I Am A Giant (Tiny the Giant) by Dom Conlon and Nicola Anderson at Amazon.com.
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