Product Description

A magical story that weaves together fifty world tales, by a renowned poet, and illustrated by 2002 Greenaway Medal winner Chris Riddell. 'One day a story fell from heaven and landed on a giant's tongue! ' The Story Giant is a master illusionist and the ur-storyteller. In his memory exists every tale ever told in the world -- except for one, which has eluded him for millennia. In a last desperate attempt to track down this lost tale, he draws four children from the different corners of the globe into his castle while they sleep, there to exchange the tales they know from their own cultures, to see if between them they can piece together the elusive missing story. For if he cannot track it down and install it in his memory, the whole facade of the castle will crumble and fall, and the Story Giant himself will die. And if he does, so will all the stories, and the world will be a poorer, duller, grimmer place. Fifty tales are told within this magical framework in Brian Patten's inimitable style -- from Brer Rabbit to the tale of how St George killed the Dragon (except it wasn't St George -- it was his mother, with a pudding!) but none of them is the missing tale. The castle falls; the giant dies. But all is not lost -- the four children dream themselves back to the ruins to concoct the missing tale themselves!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #176907 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-04
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
/ Every child in the land should be given this book, a true gift book if ever there was one! Fiona Waters Books for Keeps / A wonderful book of traditional tales from many cultures. This extraordinary book, is packed with dreams, magic and stories, and comes with evocative line drawings from Chris Riddell. Wendy Cooling, The Bookseller / a wonderful variation on The Arabian Nights and a book that can be used for many age groups Lyn Gardner, Guardian / The book is a beautiful package Nicolette Jones, Sunday Times / Patten's poetic multi-layered narrative offers a thoughtful child an exploration of the meaning of fiction, along with some outlook-changing stories. Independent /

About the Author
Brian Patten was born in Liverpool in 1946. His poetry for adults has been published in many languages and his collections include Love Poems, Storm Damage, and Grinning Jack. His work for children includes the poetry collections Gargling with Jelly and Thawing Frozen Frogs as well as plays and the award-winning novel Mr Moon's Last Case.

Customer Reviews

Giant Read at bedtime
whilst perusing the shelves at the local bookstore for a new book for my little sisters bedtime. i spotted in the darkest recesses of the shop a colourful front cover and decided to give it a go... so at the first bedtime i started the book and read the first three sttories, and the story running through, i finished the book today, and my extremely fussy sister asked me to read it again. i think that will give you all the reassurance you need!

Good way to introduce philosophy to children
This is a great teaching resource. You can either read the book as a class novel, from start to end, or dip into it and pick out stories to suit your lesson theme. I have use the book with P3 to P7 children and it has been well received by all. The short philosophical stories are based on old tales but are retold with a twist. Through them children learn about moral values and being a responsible citizen. A fabulous book for circle time discussions.