The Giant of Jum by Elli Woollard- ADVISABLE

Woollard, Elli. The Giant of Jum, PICTURE BOOK. Henry Holt and Company, 2015. $17.99. A grumpy giant is convinced that a good meal of children will fill him up quite nicely. So he goes on a search for a boy named Jack that his brother met on a beanstalk. He knows that if he finds him he can make the most delicious food. When he starts looking for Jack he finds many more children, who beg him to help get down their ball and their cat. They determine he is a very nice giant and in the end, once he actually finds Jack, he becomes convinced that he’s kind and should eat cake instead. The rhyming for this book is very well done. Children will recognize many aspects of giant stories (such as, “Fee, fi, fo, fum”) intermixed throughout. The possibility that the kids in the book will be eaten is always a threat and the human recipes the giant comes up with are amusing. EL (K-3), EL- ADVISABLE. Reviewed by Shay, School Librarian