Watch Out! A Giant!

by Eric Carle

An exciting novelty book is filled with flaps and die-cuts that invite children to follow along as two children imagine that they have stumbled into the garden of a hungry giant and must run for their lives through trapdoors, secret passages, and underground tunnels to make it safely home.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Adventure, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

Published June 1, 2002

About the author

Eric Carle was an American author, designer and illustrator of children's books. His picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, first published in 1969, has been translated into more than 66 languages and sold more than 50 million copies. Carle's career as an illustrator and children's book author accelerated after he collaborated on Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. Carle illustrated more than 70 books, most of which he also wrote, and more than 145 million copies of his books have been sold around the world.
In 2003, the American Library Association awarded Carle the biennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (now called the Children's Literature Legacy Award), a prize for writers or illustrators of children's books published in the U.S. who have made lasting contributions to the field. Carle was also a U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2010.

Reviews

[Ami · Rating 2 out of 5]

Same Eric Carle art as usual, but with cut-outs & pop-out doors to open. Never a good idea for a library book. Sometimes the stuff behind the pop-out doors was cool, and sometimes it missed the mark. I really liked how on the first page of the book, the halo of light around a candle on one page was a sun on the next, and at the end, the sun on the second-to-last page became a candle's halo on the last.

[Jillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was fine, but the flaps a) are going to get torn out and b) although called out as 'double-sided,' when you lift it to look through, usually it doesn't show anything clever that's revealed on the next page.

[Canette Arille · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book is a bit weird. The illustrations could be drawn a little better. I was scared by a big head with teeth. But I like that in this book are cut out elements, to see what is on another page, or a door in the garden. I think Eric Carle's other books are better.

[Critley King · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun adventure for kids. The images are too scary for my 4-year-old, so I will introduce this one to her when she is a bit older. Children will certainly enjoy lifting the flaps to "complete" the adventure.

[Stacy Natal · Rating 2 out of 5]

The draw is the pop up windows, not the story.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thin on story, I feel this is not one of his better titles. Double die-cuts are mildly entertaining, they're more interesting than the text.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not into scary games or scary books.

[Sara Presnell]

I was intrigued to read this children's book, because I saw that the author was Eric Carle, and I am a fan of Carle. I was surprised when I read the book and was not very fond of it. The book definitely plays on the imagination of children. The children in the book are running from a giant throughout the book, but then at the end it is shown that they were just playing pretend. The book had two clear oppositions, with the imaginary world and the real world. There were no words in the book, except for some thought clouds above characters. Unlike some picture books I have read, I feel that this book did not really tell the story well. There was too much going on in each picture and it was hard to follow along.

[Kelly Tessitore · Rating 1 out of 5]

Watch Out! A Giant! was a book that promoted a child to play, imagine, and have fun. The emphasis placed on imagination reveals through the plot at the very end of the book when you find out that the children have been imagining that they were being chased by a giant and they are called home to come in for the night. This book also has an interactive part to it. In the book there are folds that you can open and close on each page, which I know young kids(ages 2-4) love to open and close. This adds another dimension to the book and gets a child more involved in the reading process even though they can not read. This book was definitely odd and I did not enjoy it very much to be honest.

[Bethany Vines]

Watch Out! A Giant! by Eric Carle was a book about a few kids that were simply playing in their yard but that had used their imaginations to enter into what seemed like a whole other world. Though I think that this would be a fun read for kids to have because it includes great pictures and illustrations to help with the dialogue, I actually wasn't very fond of the book. I thought that it was hard to follow at times because of the way that it switched between what the giant was thinking and what the kids were doing. I was confused that they were actually only playing in the yard. However, a kid with a vivid imagination may enjoy this book.

[Matthew Meehan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eric Carle creates an adventurous tale of sister who play "giant", a similar fantasy that most children have once in their life. What is most unique about this book is that it is a illustrated with lift-the-flaps. I thought it was done very well, as there were two sides to each flap, meaning that you have an iamge before the page turn, and a different one after the page turn, and through the same flap. I found it interesting because there were subtle faces painted in the sun and moon, and it makes them a friendly characters when on the giant adventure.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic Plot: Children playing encounter a giant, but make it home in time for dinner.

This is a tribute to small children's imaginations. The little windows and doors within the book provide great entertainment for my little man, because he wants to open everything and see what's on the other side. The book is filled with Carle's trademark colorful art, which actually takes precedence over the story. There is no narration, only dialogue to tell the story, which is unusual, but successfully done. Bug loves it, so that makes me happy.

[Jamie]

This book was strange because it had portals that the characters moved through and it took them to the next page. While the book was going on the characters were running away from a giant. The text was very minimal and it relied much more on the pictures rather than any text. Most of the text was very similar on each page. It was a simple story and in the end it ended up being totally make believe which was a nice contrast.

[Sarah Brock]

I honestly did not really like this book. It seemed to be very random to me and I could not follow along with the storyline. There are cut-outs that allow the reader to peek onto different pages, but for me they were kind of distracting. I think the main purpose of the book was to focus in on the children's imaginations and the journey it took them on, but it was so hard for me to follow that I would probably choose others books about imagination over this one.

[Katie Ellis]

I always love Eric Carle books, and this one was no exception. The creative pages with "interactive" objects to pull and move, it keeps the reader very entertained. I loved how I thought there was really a giant the entire time and it turned out to be just a game the kids were playing. The cutouts on the pages were very cute, and always led you into the next page with a peek through the hole. I think all younger kids would love this book!!!

[Margaret Cobb]

I liked the cut outs! They were clever for younger children and of course Carle's illustrations were wonderful. I didn't really get the story, so I'm not sure it would be engaging for a smaller child, other than them being able to lift up the flaps and see what was underneath.

[Lucero Hernandez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Creative way to tell a story about kids running away from a giant. This book has barely any words but would work well in the dramatic play or writing center in which imagination breaks barriers of however the students wish to interpret this book.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is creepier than the usual Carle book. Two children are playing and get chased by a giant. As they run away, they find different ways to escape - we lift flaps to see what's on the other side. All ends well, however, as it turns out they're just pretending.

[Joanne Zienty · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairy/folk tale in (mostly) pictures. The young reader can add the details, as scary or as tame as they choose, as they follow a brother and sister who go out to play one morning and wind up on a giant's dinner plate. Beautiful collage illustrations with lush colors.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite Eric Carle books. It's different.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Eric Carle book ever.

[Ellen Brandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kindergartner's love this book. It's scary - but has a happy ending

[Mrs. Brandt]

Kindergartner's love this book. It's scary - but has a happy ending

[Emily Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

PB30 - This book was interactive but I didn't really understand why so it wasn't very impressive. I didn't enjoy this book at all.

[Mrs. Gabrielle Zastrow's · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amanda says, "I liked it because it had good expression and the characters all had different feelings. The drawings were good. I liked the flaps."

[Danelle Spicer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book about children and their imagination! The children believe they are going to be eaten by a giant and go on an adventure to get away.

[Sam W · Rating 2 out of 5]

Visually interesting with doors that reveal things from the next and last page, but there really isn't a plot.

[Tori Crumrine]

Illustrations are hand painted, collaged shapes.

This story is about two children who get taken by a giant and struggle to evade him in his giant house. The children get called by their mother, and the imaginary giant disappears as the children go inside their house to have dinner.

I enjoyed that the ending of the story wasn't as I had predicted. This story also had a lot more in the background of the illustrations than are in other Carle books.

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very strange book with clever cut outs.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stupid