The Smartest Giant in Town Book

The Smartest Giant in Town is another winning combination of the children's-book-writing talents of Julia Donaldson and the illustrating abilities of Axel Scheffler. Telling the tale of a scruffy giant who decides to smarten himself up with a new suit of clothes, the book teaches kids about sharing and selflessness through a story that sees the giant use each item of clothing to rescue or help a different animal in need.

As ever, there's plenty of Donaldson's trademark rhyming and poetry, this time taking the form of a song that details exactly how the giant has helped the animals he's met so far. As the book goes on, the song gets longer and longer before eventually being turned on its head by the animals as a celebration of the giant's kindness.

Whilst it's not quite as wildly imaginative as books like the Gruffalo, this is a sweet story that will expand the vocabulary of young children (especially when it comes to clothing!) and teach older ones about the value of altruism. The book also looks great, with some fun visual gags and an amusingly-realised world in which giants, humans, and anthropomorphic animals co-exist. Definitely a solid addition to any child's library.

Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler (Illus)