GIANTS ARE VERY BRAVE PEOPLE

A young giant learns to be brave.

Bigelow, a blue-skinned giant with dark hair, is scared of just about everything except his mom: clouds, rain, baths, and alphabet soup (“What if I swallowed the letters that spelled a magic word that would turn me into a mushroom?”). One day he’s out for a walk when he encounters a tan-skinned, brown-haired human named Mrs. Pimberly, who is similarly terrified to come across the oversized youth. There is an extended back-and-forth on the nature of perspective; both refuse to be characterized as large or small, each stubbornly claiming the title of “regular size.” Then Bigelow and Mrs. Pimberly get down to the task of overcoming the giant’s timidity—she suggests the traditional chant of “Fee Fi Fo Fum!” and Bigelow realizes that by pretending to be courageous, he can in fact become brave. He ends by bathing and eating alphabet soup without fear and then helps Mrs. Pimberly overcome some anxieties of her own. This lengthy story feels like it belongs to an earlier time thanks to both the text-heavy pages and the simple fairy-tale setting. Children may enjoy following Bigelow’s example and shouting “Fee Fi Fo Fum!” at the things that scare them, but as an exploration of anxiety it comes off a bit flat, and the worldbuilding leaves open a lot of questions. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Fee fi fo fine.