'George was a giant, the scruffiest giant in town...' (The Smartest Giant in Town - Julia Donaldson)

Member Name: littleme96

Product:	The Smartest Giant in Town - Julia Donaldson
Date:	19/08/09 (91 review reads)
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I am always looking to add to my little girl's book collection, as although she is too young to fully understand the story being told I feel that it is good to encourage reading as a hobby and I enjoy the bonding that comes from sitting down and looking at a book together. Having already purchased 'The Gruffalo' and 'Room on the Broom' (and loving them both), I decided to order 'The Smartest Giant in Town' from Amazon, as it is written and illustrated by the same team - the very talented Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

'The Smartest Giant in Town' tells the story of George, who at the beginning of the book carries the unfortunate title of 'the scruffiest giant in town'. Fortunately for George he comes across a new clothes shop and sets about purchasing an entire new outfit to make him the smartest giant in town instead. However on his way home he encounters a number of animals who need help and George being the kind and friendly bloke that he is, gives away items from his new wardrobe bit by bit to help them out. For example the first animal he comes across is a giraffe, who has a cold neck, so George rather cleverly donates his new stripy tie to be wound round and round the giraffe's neck (but it's okay, because the tie didn't match his new socks anyway!). The rest of the book continues in a similar vein until he hardly has any clothes left and his trousers fall down, because he's given his new belt away to a dog who was crossing a bog!

When George finally arrives home (having returned to the shop to find it closed and then discovering a bag full of his old, scruffy clothes which he immediately puts back on), he finds the tribe of animals that he has helped waiting outside for him with a card and a paper crown to thank him for being the 'kindest giant in town'.

Although this book doesn't quite have the same charm as 'The Gruffalo' or 'Room on the Broom', it is very nicely written and very easy to read aloud, due to being written in rhyme. The words flow nicely and the illustrations are very well done - complimenting the story perfectly and adding interest and humour to the tale. They are also very clever - for example just after George helped the giraffe, we can see a 'Missing Giraffe' poster on the fence (in the same picture, it looks like one of the lady giants who is passing by, seems to have taken a bit of a fancy to the new smart George too!).

There is a lot of repetition in the book, meaning that children should probably be able to join in at certain stages, but it doesn't get boring or stale for the adult reader. The story has a nice moral to it, which is that you should help others when you can and likewise, if someone does you a good turn then it's nice to thank them for it. The end of the story leaves you feeling good, which is great!

We have the board book version of this book, although it is also available in large paperback and hardback. My little girl enjoys looking at the pictures and she is also at the age where she loves just turning the board pages over and over (not so great when your thumb is in the way and gets crushed!). Being made of cardboard, this book is durable and wipe clean so good for little ones and I am sure that it will be sturdy enough to last for years to come.

Our board book version costs £3.89 from Amazon.co.uk and the paperback version is slightly cheaper at £3.07.

Summary: Appearances aren't everything.