THE GIANT

“I remember Mama had said there were giants, strong and tall, and that one was looking after me. I needed to see one to believe.” A young girl grieves for the loss of her mother, but the demands of farm life go on as she and her undemonstrative father must plant, tend, and harvest the crops. Through the seasons, she watches for a sign of the giant without seeing one, until a mishap during a storm that threatens the corn crop causes her to realize that all along that giant has been her father. The sweet, lyrical prose of the girl’s voice is boxed on maize-colored insets against the bucolic watercolor illustrations; together they create the girl’s wistful, quiet longing and need. The upward perspective in the scenes subtlely reinforces the girl’s search, as she continually looks up for signs of the giant. As the rigorous farm life swallows their emotions, it is the constancy of nature and return of the geese that restores them, bringing father and daughter closer together. (Picture book. 4-8)