Giant John

K-Gr 2-Gentle Giant John and his mother, Mrs. Giant, live in an enchanted forest along with fairies who play magic music for John in Arnold Lobel's picture book (HarperCollins, 1964). Whenever he hears the music, he can't help but dance until it stops. One day the cupboards are bare and Mrs. Giant sobs, "There are only two potato chips in the cupboard and we have no money to buy more food." Giant John tells her, "Soon we will have some money. I will go out into the world to find a job." He finds a job working for a king and queen in their castle, and all is well until the fairies appear and begin to play their music. John starts dancing and can't stop. He's soon dancing over everything, including the castle. When the fairies finally stop playing, John repairs the castle and returns home with a bag of gold given to him by the royals. Lobel's large, three-color (orange, green, black) illustrations impart a sense of giant proportion on each page. Jim Brownold's delightful narration is delivered with child-like wonder. Page-turn signals are optional. This delightful tale of friendship is a fine choice for a new generation of beginning readers.-Mary Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.