Greta and the Giants

by Zoe Tucker, Zoe Persico (Illustrator)

Overview

This inspiring picture book retells the story of Nobel Peace Prize nominee Greta Thunberg—the Swedish teenager who has led a global movement to raise awareness about the world’s climate crisis—using allegory to make this important topic accessible to young children.
 
Greta is a little girl who lives in a beautiful forest threatened by Giants. When the Giants first came to the forest, they chopped down trees to make houses. Then they chopped down more trees and made even bigger homes. The houses grew into towns and the towns grew into cities, until now there is hardly any forest left. Greta knows she has to help the animals who live in the forest, but how? Luckily, Greta has an idea…
 
A section at the back explains that, in reality, the fight against the “giants” isn’t over and explains how you can help Greta in her fight. 

This book has been printed sustainably in the US on 100% recycled paper. By buying a copy of this book, you are making a donation of 3% of the cover price to 350.org. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780711253773
Publisher:	Frances Lincoln Children's Books
Publication date:	11/19/2019
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	138,228
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Zoë Tucker is passionate about picture books. In her day job as a picture-book art director and designer, she has worked with bestselling artists including Waterstones–prize winner Lizzy Stewart, Axel Scheffler, Nick Sharratt, and Helen Stephens. She is the author of Greta and the Giants, and books in the Friends Change the World series.

Zoe Persico is an author and illustrator with a love for the wild, the wondrous, and the whimsical. Along with bringing her own bags while shopping, using reusable items, and thrifting, she joined working on this book to help spread the important message of fighting climate change. Born and bred in the Midwest, she currently resides in Florida with her partner and dog. 

Editorial Reviews

“Children and adults alike will be inspired to make changes in their own lives to combat climate change after reading this poignant tale.”
 —School Library Journal

"Introducing those important lessons to young minds can be tricky, but a new picture book, Greta and the Giants is a great place to start." 
 —Red Tricycle

'Something very special. Crisp writing and sumptuously-lit forests of colour lift the story beyond preachiness to create a gripping parable for our age.’ —Guy Parker-Rees, illustrator of 'Giraffes Can’t Dance'

From the Publisher

01/24/2020

Gr 1–4—Climate change is a very real, very scary situation taking place around the world. Human behavior has rapidly increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, causing the global temperature to rise by a full degree Celsius. Greta lives in the heart of a beautiful forest and observes this destruction firsthand. She and her animal friends are suffering at the hands of the giants who are cutting down the forest to build their homes and cities. Finally, Greta has had enough. She begins a movement that ripples through her community, affecting great change along the way. Though the climate change crisis is significant in the world at present, this book offers a hopeful resolution as inspired by the actions of a young girl named Greta Thunberg. A robust cover and beautifully detailed illustrations capture the attention of readers of all ages. Each page is saturated with color and emotion, the images reminiscent of a fairy tale. The faces of the giants are generic until the final moments of the book as they become less scary and more "human." At the end of the book, a description of Thunberg's brave actions and a list of ways even young children can make a difference are shared to provide context for the story and its message. VERDICT Children and adults alike will be inspired to make changes in their own lives to combat climate change after reading this poignant tale.—Mary Lanni, formerly at Denver Public Library

School Library Journal

2019-11-24
In allegorical tribute to teen eco-activist Greta Thunberg, a child saves a forest from heedless pillagers.

When forest animals humbly come to Greta, a very small white child sporting braids and a yellow slicker, for help against the giants—"huge, lumbering oafs" who have destroyed nearly all the trees to build dark, smoky cities—she plants herself in front of the remaining greenery with a sign that says "STOP!" and waits for the giants to notice her. Soon she is joined by a brown-skinned little boy, then animals and other, diverse children, all bearing more signs…until in time the giants hunker down in embarrassment and promise to mend their ways. And soon "the forest became more beautiful than they ever could have imagined." Using mostly warm hues, Persico places the towering giants and the crowds of sign-wielding, ankle-high protesters in mistily atmospheric settings that culminate in a double-page -spread "peaceable kingdom" scene. This Greta has a forthright look in accord with the polite tone of the colloquy ("We need to take care of our forest and live together. Will you please try?"), but she lacks the living one's challenging, world-class stare. Moreover, the author's closing observation that her tale's happy ending hasn't actually (or, optimistically, yet) come about in the real world is buried in an appended account of Thunberg's campaign (to about mid-2019) and so may go unnoticed by younger readers.

Bland and tidy—but a good starter for discussions with budding activists. (websites, suggested activities) (Picture book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews