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Once There Were Giants
There is a baby who lives among giants.... Soon the baby grows a little and can walk and talk. Then, one day, the baby is all grown up and has a baby of her own. Suddenly there are giants in the house again, and she realizes, "One of the giants is...ME!" Martin Waddell and Penny Dale trace the cycle of family life as it goes from one generation to the next in this warm picture book.
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
32 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1989
5 people are currently reading
162 people want to read
About the author
Martin Waddell
468 books97 followershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_W...
Also writes under the pen name Catherine Sefton
Martin Waddell is the author of more than one hundred books for young readers.
Awards: Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing (2004).
Also writes under the pen name Catherine Sefton
Martin Waddell is the author of more than one hundred books for young readers.
Awards: Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing (2004).
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 26, 2020
Oh! Just lovely. My children are grown, and so this story and the artwork just turned me into mush. It reminds me just a bit of Where Did The Baby Go? so if you like that you'll love this. (And vice-versa. ;)
What made this stand out to me though was watching Uncle Tom steal almost every scene. It's a brilliant touch that makes the story that much more immediate, intimate, and authentic. Highly recommended. I will look for more by the author.
What made this stand out to me though was watching Uncle Tom steal almost every scene. It's a brilliant touch that makes the story that much more immediate, intimate, and authentic. Highly recommended. I will look for more by the author.
September 10, 2012
I don't think I've ever made it to the end of this book without bawling my eyes out, much to my 4 year-old's amusement - he'll understand one day. Beautiful.
November 3, 2013
"Once there were giants", follows the life of an unnamed female character as she goes from childhood to adulthood. Living with her Mum, Dad, Uncle Tom and her two siblings, we see her first day at school, getting into fights with her her brother, getting a job and eventually getting married and having her own baby, making her a "Giant".
A good book for Key Stage 1 or Early Years, however, some may find the illustrations a bit dark and more exciting things could have happened during her lifetime. However, there are lots of cross-curricula elements to the book. It is a good book for exploring the past, present and future so children can understand their own past and where they came from. Using this context children could create their own timelines, understanding a sense of the past. The book also highlights the importance of family and this could be used in a PSHE lesson or to create a family tree. The book also explores feelings, for example her first day at school and into arguments with children at school and her brother. Using this book children could understand where they are now in their own lives, and what they would like to happen in the future and what may happen to them.
I'm giving the three stars, although it is a nice book I feel more exciting things could have happened in her lifetime and its probably not a book children would want to read over and over again. However, there are lots of cross-curricula opportunities and the illustrations are very realistic.
A good book for Key Stage 1 or Early Years, however, some may find the illustrations a bit dark and more exciting things could have happened during her lifetime. However, there are lots of cross-curricula elements to the book. It is a good book for exploring the past, present and future so children can understand their own past and where they came from. Using this context children could create their own timelines, understanding a sense of the past. The book also highlights the importance of family and this could be used in a PSHE lesson or to create a family tree. The book also explores feelings, for example her first day at school and into arguments with children at school and her brother. Using this book children could understand where they are now in their own lives, and what they would like to happen in the future and what may happen to them.
I'm giving the three stars, although it is a nice book I feel more exciting things could have happened in her lifetime and its probably not a book children would want to read over and over again. However, there are lots of cross-curricula opportunities and the illustrations are very realistic.
August 7, 2011
I had this read to me a lot when I was very little, and I loved the illustrations at the time, all the detail in them. I recently was going through a lot of boxes of old books and found it again, and ended up sniffing and wiping away tears by the end of it. Read it at 20 is a very different experience from reading it at 4!
January 31, 2020
Such a sweet story about family! This was my favorite book as a child and I remember always searching for it and checking it out from the library♥︎ I have read it tons of times, and when I was a little girl I always loved the picture of the wedding and wanted a dress exactly like the one in the book! :) I never cried while I was reading it until I became a parent, and now I get teary-eyed basically every time. I love the illustrations and I just started noticing all the babies throughout the book as well—it’s fun to see that there will always be babies and giants :)
July 24, 2012
I have chosen this book for my second review as I believe it tries to demonstrate to children the process of birth to adulthood and the experiences of life at each stage in this process. Above all, the book looks at family life and children can associate with this, regardless of background and cultures.
The book commences with a baby girl and all those around her are perceived as "giants". The book continues to show how the child is growing up alongside her family throughout the years and important milestones of the child's life are covered such as beginning to walk, talk and commencing school. The book then discusses the woman finding employment and eventually marrying and becoming a mother herself, thus going full cycle of a person's life. The book also covers the girl/woman’s experience throughout her life such as separation anxiety from mother when the child starts school to physically fighting with her brother, which may be common amongst siblings.
Therefore, it tries to show the reader how people cope with experiences. The book attempts to portray to the reader that as people age they become more "sensible and stable" and this is required in life, especially as the girl becomes a woman to a mother.
The text of this book is clear and concise and contains repetition, focusing the reader to look at the illustrations on each page. The illustrations are excellent and complements the text nicely. The book also contains rhyming and again this is essential to maintain interest in the reader and to develop and expand vocabulary.
Once criticism of this book is that it is very short nonetheless, this can be an advantage depending on which group of pupils this book is being read to. For example, if this book is read to pupils with SEN, this is a good resource due to some pupils having ambiguity with focusing on a task for too long.
This book is "to the point" and can be used for PSHE lessons. An idea for an activity can be for children to place in the correct order the child/woman experiences for each stage, so the child can grasp a human’s life cycle to some extent.
The book commences with a baby girl and all those around her are perceived as "giants". The book continues to show how the child is growing up alongside her family throughout the years and important milestones of the child's life are covered such as beginning to walk, talk and commencing school. The book then discusses the woman finding employment and eventually marrying and becoming a mother herself, thus going full cycle of a person's life. The book also covers the girl/woman’s experience throughout her life such as separation anxiety from mother when the child starts school to physically fighting with her brother, which may be common amongst siblings.
Therefore, it tries to show the reader how people cope with experiences. The book attempts to portray to the reader that as people age they become more "sensible and stable" and this is required in life, especially as the girl becomes a woman to a mother.
The text of this book is clear and concise and contains repetition, focusing the reader to look at the illustrations on each page. The illustrations are excellent and complements the text nicely. The book also contains rhyming and again this is essential to maintain interest in the reader and to develop and expand vocabulary.
Once criticism of this book is that it is very short nonetheless, this can be an advantage depending on which group of pupils this book is being read to. For example, if this book is read to pupils with SEN, this is a good resource due to some pupils having ambiguity with focusing on a task for too long.
This book is "to the point" and can be used for PSHE lessons. An idea for an activity can be for children to place in the correct order the child/woman experiences for each stage, so the child can grasp a human’s life cycle to some extent.
December 5, 2007
I absolutely adore this book as does my (now) 5 year old. Fantastic for teaching the passing of time, the development from baby to child to teenager to young adult to parent. Beautifully illustrated too with lots to look at and discuss. Wonderful!
May 22, 2018
A good mentor text for writing memoirs, a girl tells the story of her life in rhyme, with "photos" and directions to find her in each scene. Shows how life cycles, and is also a good book to teach perspective or point of view. Here I am going on about ways to use is to teach when I also shouldn't overlook the sweetness or the reflection on life that the book has.
First grade could use for point of view and for writing memoirs.
First grade could use for point of view and for writing memoirs.
December 28, 2020
I love how this book reminds us how adults look like giants to young children.
March 10, 2017
Martin Waddell e Penny Dale retratam o ciclo de vida familiar, de uma geração para outra.
Ilustrações FABULOSAS, estrutura cíclica ("Sou eu!"), apontamentos de humor e muitos afectos.
Ilustrações FABULOSAS, estrutura cíclica ("Sou eu!"), apontamentos de humor e muitos afectos.
December 4, 2014
A cute story about growing up! When we were little everyone and everything was giant sized. Then we grow up and become the "giants"
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March 15, 2016Beautiful book about a growing girl's place in the family
April 30, 2020
I'm not sure why, but when I was little I really didn't like this book.
April 13, 2010
I have never been able to read this book out loud to the boys without crying.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews