Victor and the Giant

Victor is enjoying his morning hot chocolate when, suddenly, there is a terrible noise and a horrible shaking, followed by silence. Looking out of his window, he sees an enormous giant, who, having eaten all the city apart from Victor’s building, is now sleeping off his meal. Summoning his courage, Victor sets off to investigate…

‘Victor and the Giant’ is a quirky and imaginative read. In the best fairy tale tradition, our hero, Victor, defeats the giant and restores his mother and the rest of the city. His solution to the giant problem, however, is not violence or outwitting his adversary, but creativity and appealing to the giant’s better nature.

Genial, but hungry, the giant, once woken from his slumber, is moved by Victor’s tears and is happy to rectify the situation in return for a milky hot chocolate. Children will appreciate Victor’s tactics as he wakes the giant by pulling out one of his nose hairs and then tickles his tonsils to get his mother and the city back. The illustrations allow readers to ‘admire’ every hair, lump and bump on the giant’s skin and in his mouth and shows the regurgitated city covered in slime, all of which is sure to make children squeal in delight! Other illustrations emphasise how tiny Victor is in comparison to the giant and children will enjoy spotting his tiny figure as he tries to appeal to his huge adversary.

All ends well as Victor’s mother and the city are returned and the giant satiated. However, the final page leaves the the reader wondering what really happened, offering plenty to discuss and enjoy!

Victor and the Giant

Rafael Yockteng, translated by Elisa Amado

Greystone Kids ISBN: 978-1778499841