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Giant Children
Goblins. Boogers. Stinky boys. These are the things of childhood, and they're all here in this outrageous collection of poems that look at the world through a child's eyes. Featuring everything from the Giant Children of the title-who flip pages with amazing speed-to a turtle named Jaws, the poetry included here is rambunctious, irreverent, funny, and sometimes even gross. Tedd Arnold, creator of the beloved Parts and More Parts , and Brod Bagert are good friends who have happily teamed up-with hilarious results.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
7 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Brod Bagert
31 books4 followersBrod Bagert is the award-winning author of 21 books of poetry for children, young-adults, and adults. His work has received numerous awards including the International Reading Association’s prestigious Young Adults Choices award, the Association of Educational Publishers Distinguished Achievement Award, the Independent Publisher Gold Book Award, and Mom’s Choices Gold Medal. He tours some thirty weeks a year, and has visited Asia, Europe, South America, Africa and just about every nook and cranny of the good ole USA.
Born and raised in the City of New Orleans, Brod studied the classics in Latin and Greek, wrestled and boxed to vent adolescent angst, fell in love with and married his high-school sweetheart, practiced law, served in public office, and reared four children that are the joy of his life.
Brod started his career as a poet in the third grade with a poem for his mother. He wrote a few poems in high school, then picked up the pace in college because “GIRLS LOVE POETRY!” During his lawyer days, Brod wrote fewer and fewer poems. Then one of his children asked him to write a poem for her to perform in her school elocution program. That launched a flood of poems unabated to this very day. In 1992, Brod closed his twenty-one year law practice and became one of America’s very few full-time, professional poets.
Today Brod mesmerizes audiences with poetry, both his and those of the great authors of history, leaving participants with a new or reinvigorated love for poetry in the process.
Brod continues to live in New Orleans with Debby, his wife of more than 40 years, where they spend quality time with their four children, and a growing tribe of grandchildren.
Born and raised in the City of New Orleans, Brod studied the classics in Latin and Greek, wrestled and boxed to vent adolescent angst, fell in love with and married his high-school sweetheart, practiced law, served in public office, and reared four children that are the joy of his life.
Brod started his career as a poet in the third grade with a poem for his mother. He wrote a few poems in high school, then picked up the pace in college because “GIRLS LOVE POETRY!” During his lawyer days, Brod wrote fewer and fewer poems. Then one of his children asked him to write a poem for her to perform in her school elocution program. That launched a flood of poems unabated to this very day. In 1992, Brod closed his twenty-one year law practice and became one of America’s very few full-time, professional poets.
Today Brod mesmerizes audiences with poetry, both his and those of the great authors of history, leaving participants with a new or reinvigorated love for poetry in the process.
Brod continues to live in New Orleans with Debby, his wife of more than 40 years, where they spend quality time with their four children, and a growing tribe of grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
June 25, 2025
I think it would be fun to incorporate some poetry lessons for some students as a way to process feelings. This book is super kid-friendly and has lots of cute/funny poems.
November 26, 2018
This book is a short collection of short stories that are centered around the "giant children" that roam the pages of the book. These short stories range from the silly and often too real situation of stage fright to getting a supposed scratch on your knee, and not being able to find it. It's there I promise! Overall, this book is a great book for a young reader, not only because these are short stories, but because the reader, no matter the age, is going to enjoy the situations that the characters get into, as they are extremely relatable and funny at the same time. This could be a good use for this book in the classroom. You may be reading this book and see a situation that you may have been in as a child. I read this a lot when I was a child, so it holds a special place in my heart.
December 5, 2017
This book is filled with many little poems! The poems are written in a child's point of view about the world around us. The illustrations are wonderful and big, attracting the reader and audience. This cute picture book can be used with a lower elementary grade up to even a fifth-grade class to use as fluency practice.
April 23, 2018
This is a great book because its filled with funny and motivational poems that many kids can relate to. Bagert writes very funny poetry so this book is very entertaining like his others. Kids will enjoy it.
December 3, 2018
12/1
Poetry
K-5th
This super hilarious book of random poems always cracked me up as a kid. Some gross, some silly, but all are funny. Especially the illustrations that come along with them. I still enjoyed reading through the poems of the giant children!
Poetry
K-5th
This super hilarious book of random poems always cracked me up as a kid. Some gross, some silly, but all are funny. Especially the illustrations that come along with them. I still enjoyed reading through the poems of the giant children!
August 25, 2018
A great collection of humorous, clever poems.
October 12, 2018
I loved this book!!! Perfect for 1st-4th grade boys because of the Boogers and Monsters. Fun fun rhyming and silliness plus Tedd Arnold's unique illustration style!
October 25, 2019
Like this book! This book is made with lots of fun poems and rhymes for children to have a peal of laughter.
December 3, 2019
A book of poems.
January 13, 2024
Some really good poems in this one!!
March 2, 2017
This book has a big combination of kids poems. They all rhyme the same way and they tell little stories of children. I love this book, and my preschoolers love this book! They love the silly poems about kids, and they can relate to them very well because the kids in the book are their age. I would use this book almost everyday! If you read a poem a day, and had a thought book mark so the kids could ask questions, come up with a text reference, or something along those lines! Love it!
February 25, 2015
Giant Children is an absolutely hilarious collection of poems that will be a favorite for everyone who reads it. I loved getting to read these poems, and they brought me right back to my childhood. I totally related this to when I was younger and my brother and I would pull pranks on each other. This book of poems is completely perfect for students of pretty much every grade. The younger kids will think that this book is extremely funny, and the older kids will completely love the style of writing. The imagination that comes along with the poems makes the stories come to life, and all of the children will get their creative juices flowing. The poems are full of imagery, rhyme, and personification. The sensory images that the poems creates is perfect for students learning about poetry.
As a teacher, I would use this book to introduce poetry. Students hear poetry, and they do not think great things about it. By introducing this fun, lively, and comical book as the beginning of a poetry unit, students will absolutely love poetry. I think this book of poems would be a wonderful segway to having students create their own poems. With the creative elements in the book of poems, students will get their own brains thinking about all of their wonderful things that they can write about. I love the opportunities that this book of poems presents for different learning experiences in the classroom.
As a teacher, I would use this book to introduce poetry. Students hear poetry, and they do not think great things about it. By introducing this fun, lively, and comical book as the beginning of a poetry unit, students will absolutely love poetry. I think this book of poems would be a wonderful segway to having students create their own poems. With the creative elements in the book of poems, students will get their own brains thinking about all of their wonderful things that they can write about. I love the opportunities that this book of poems presents for different learning experiences in the classroom.
December 4, 2009
Reading level: K (read aloud)-4
The pictures in this poetry book were done by Tedd Arnold. They are done in a very cartoon fashion. The "giant children" idea is carried throughout the book with the larger than life versions of the heads of the people. The most interesting thing about the literature in the poetry done by Bagert is the realistic fashion that it is done in. He really is able to connect with the child, especially boys I feel. Many of the poems are written in detail about what many adults might consider "gross," but are something that children think is funny and even normal. There are poems about common things that children deal with such as scratches that adults may think are small but the children see them as huge deals. Also, there are poems about things like boogers and what many young children consider "bad words." This collection of poetry is relatable to children by also very humorous for the adult that is presenting the poems.
I would use this poetry book for my boys in the classroom and also as some fun time carpet readings for the silly poems.
Content Connections:
Language arts: writing poems about "something that concerns you as a child." Would be interesting to read about the things they see as concerns.
Fine arts: creating pictures to go with poems already in the book or poems that they children used as their "concern" poems.
The pictures in this poetry book were done by Tedd Arnold. They are done in a very cartoon fashion. The "giant children" idea is carried throughout the book with the larger than life versions of the heads of the people. The most interesting thing about the literature in the poetry done by Bagert is the realistic fashion that it is done in. He really is able to connect with the child, especially boys I feel. Many of the poems are written in detail about what many adults might consider "gross," but are something that children think is funny and even normal. There are poems about common things that children deal with such as scratches that adults may think are small but the children see them as huge deals. Also, there are poems about things like boogers and what many young children consider "bad words." This collection of poetry is relatable to children by also very humorous for the adult that is presenting the poems.
I would use this poetry book for my boys in the classroom and also as some fun time carpet readings for the silly poems.
Content Connections:
Language arts: writing poems about "something that concerns you as a child." Would be interesting to read about the things they see as concerns.
Fine arts: creating pictures to go with poems already in the book or poems that they children used as their "concern" poems.
October 24, 2016
“Giant Children” is a collection of children’s poetry, by award winner Brod Bagert and pictures by Tedd Arnold. The books target audience is children ages 4 and up. The book won the Beehive Children's Poetry Book Award in 2005 and the Emphasis on Reading Award in 2004. The book is a collection of silly, sometimes gross, child-friendly poems.
I rated the book 4 stars because the poems are fun and relatable for school age children. Some of the poems take place in school, some take place at home and some take place in other places, like outer space. The children in the book are “normal” size. They are called giant because that’s how big the children look from the point of view of the classroom hamster. Bagert does a good job at seeing things from a child’s perspective. There are a variety of topics from school, to siblings, to parents, to boogers. I like how the book opens with a poem from the classroom hamster and ends with a poem to the hamster. It pulls the poems together as if it was one story. The poems have rhythm and rhyme, but they follow the same ballad stanza pattern. I think the words chosen are simple, child-friendly and easy for beginning readers, with some help. The poems could have been taken a little further towards gross or outrageous. They seem “simple” compared to Shel Silverstein’s poems. The pictures are funny and have cartoon characters with big eyes.
I rated the book 4 stars because the poems are fun and relatable for school age children. Some of the poems take place in school, some take place at home and some take place in other places, like outer space. The children in the book are “normal” size. They are called giant because that’s how big the children look from the point of view of the classroom hamster. Bagert does a good job at seeing things from a child’s perspective. There are a variety of topics from school, to siblings, to parents, to boogers. I like how the book opens with a poem from the classroom hamster and ends with a poem to the hamster. It pulls the poems together as if it was one story. The poems have rhythm and rhyme, but they follow the same ballad stanza pattern. I think the words chosen are simple, child-friendly and easy for beginning readers, with some help. The poems could have been taken a little further towards gross or outrageous. They seem “simple” compared to Shel Silverstein’s poems. The pictures are funny and have cartoon characters with big eyes.
February 19, 2014
Giant Children, written by Brod Bagert and illustrated by Tedd Arnold is a collection of 23 rhyming poems that are beyond silly and would appeal to the child in all of us. Tedd Arnold has also written and illustrated the Parts book series which is similar to the drawings in Giant Children. The poems vary in topic and in the style in which they can be read. The poem “Monster Me” centers on monster –trucks and has a rap-like quality that would appeal to young music lovers. My favorite poems are “Stinky Boys,” “Booger Love,” and “Bad Words.” Each poem contains only 2-4 stanzas, ABAB rhyming pattern and subject matter that most kids love discussing with their friends. This would be an amusing collection to share with students who claim they “hate” poetry. The vocabulary is simple and would be perfect for second or third grade students.
March 31, 2014
This inspired collection of uninhibited kid poems is just sublime. It looks at the world of giant children (really just normal kids that seem giant to the hamster that lives in their classroom and narrates the first poem) and the roller coaster of emotions and experiences they encounter on a daily basis. The verses tackle diverse topics like sibling rivalry, a contrary Tooth Fairy, bad words (not what you think) and the obligatory boogers (with a disclaimer not to recite to adults). Arnold's signature style mixed-media-wash illustrations and bug-eyed characters complement the poems perfectly. The twenty-plus odes are fiendishly appealing and relatable to kids of all ages. Youngsters will memorize them easily. This entertaining title is a must for school library collections.
June 30, 2013
This book would be the perfect book to have in a classroom for independent reading. The best part of this book is the cover because I think it would really interest students. Many of the poems are funny and have good rhyming patterns that could be documented by the students. The poem that really got me thinking was A Letter to the Tooth Fairy. It is about a little girl who is upset that the Tooth Fairy hasn’t left her any money. It could lead really well into an activity where students write their own letter to the Tooth Fairy (Thank You or Where’s My Money?).
October 30, 2013
Genre- Poems
Awards- None
Grade Level- 3-4
This book is a great book to get the students motivated to learn more about poetry. By teaching the students how to rhyme and also teaching them about different stanzas are shown throughout this book. A follow up activity that could be used with this book is to divide the students into groups and let each group take part of the book and find all of the rhyming words throughout the book. Afterwards they have to take some of the rhyming words that they found in their section and create their own poem using the words.
Awards- None
Grade Level- 3-4
This book is a great book to get the students motivated to learn more about poetry. By teaching the students how to rhyme and also teaching them about different stanzas are shown throughout this book. A follow up activity that could be used with this book is to divide the students into groups and let each group take part of the book and find all of the rhyming words throughout the book. Afterwards they have to take some of the rhyming words that they found in their section and create their own poem using the words.
March 6, 2014
Giant Children is a fun and engaging book of poems written in verse. It is targeted to children between third and fifth grade due to its silly poems about potty humor. The wording is very entertaining and makes it interactive for readers because it encourages them to guess the next rhyming word. It is also understandable, which makes it great for the growing reader. The pictures are great; another masterpiece by Tedd Arnold. It would be a good read for children to enjoy with their parents. I highly recommend this book.
October 26, 2015
Giant Children is a book that if full of poems that are absolutely hilarious! The poems within this book consist of Stinky Boys, Booger Love, Chocolate Maniac plus many many more. I thought I had seen it all until I came to the poem about Booger Love, I couldn't help but laugh out loud as I was reading. Most of the poems within the book are rhyming poems. The graphics are eye catching. It is a great book to read as a read aloud to children. It is a book where you will be sure to attain the attention from the audience.
December 3, 2007
Written by Brod Bagert, illustrated by Tedd Arnold. Published by Puffin, copyright 2005.
Grade level: 1st and up
A fun collection of poetry that starts out from a Hamster's point of view of school-aged children who are the Giants.
Kids will love the humor of this book and it is a great way to get them thinking about poetry. They will especially love some of the gross-out poems in the book that will have them howling with laughter.
Possible themes/units: poetry
Grade level: 1st and up
A fun collection of poetry that starts out from a Hamster's point of view of school-aged children who are the Giants.
Kids will love the humor of this book and it is a great way to get them thinking about poetry. They will especially love some of the gross-out poems in the book that will have them howling with laughter.
Possible themes/units: poetry
March 25, 2015
Giant Children is a collection of poems that shows the emotions that children experience during childhood at school, home, with bothers and sisters and more! This particular book selected poems that are hilarious and show the funny side of what children goes through. The expressive pictures also enhance the main massage that the author wants to get across. I think this book is a great alternative those children 3-5 grade perhaps 6th grade that are reluctant to read poetry.
December 11, 2008
My favorite poem was The Scratch. The kid gets a little scratch and is having a fit. He really just wants a band-aid. The scratch is so tiny, his mom has to get out the microscope to see it!
Another good is A Letter to the Tooth Fairy. A girl is mad at the tooth fairy for not coming for three whole days.
Another good is A Letter to the Tooth Fairy. A girl is mad at the tooth fairy for not coming for three whole days.
March 29, 2011
Giant children has a poem for almost everything! From pets to siblings to the tooth fairy, these funny rhymes will make a class giggle out loud! There are ones to read for specific topics/subjects, which could easily be read one at a time. Would recommend to any elementary school grade. Younger grades could have these poems read to the them, and the older ones could easily read them on their own.
August 16, 2015
This is a collection of beautifully illustrated short silly poems. I read this aloud to first graders, leaving a few out, in a 15-20 minute reading period. There is an overriding story in the background and at the end we discover the giant children are really regular children but seen from the perspective of a classroom hamster.
February 4, 2012
This is a must read poetry book! I would definitely read this book to my children since I know that it will make them laugh. The illustrations are also great and silly. I definitely recommend it as a read aloud for young children.
April 2, 2012
I thought that these poems were really cute. In the first one or two poems you get why the book got its title and I think that can be fun for children's imagination. I also think that the poems are a lot of fun cause it is easy to relate to them in a goofy way.
July 5, 2012
Bagert's poetry may be fun for some children, but he uses very conventional rhyme schemes and his poems lack the luster and mischief of Silverstein or Prelutsky. The illustrations, by Ted Arnold, make the book.
February 26, 2015
This was a really cute rhyming book. The only negative thing I can think of would be the confusion it might cause. Some kids might see the way the characters act and think they can act the same way. Ex. Picking on your sister.
November 17, 2015
Giant Children is something I would have gone crazy over when I was a kid. It’s a perfect balance of funny and gross poems. The illustrations are colorful, bright, and wonderful. They are funny and fuzzy. The illustrations fit with the text perfectly. They are welcoming and centered.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews