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From Kirkus

November 15, 2023
A lonely giant and a small girl forge an unlikely friendship. On top of a rocky hill, a nameless giant with lightly tanned skin and a white beard and hair leads a solitary life. Although he's chosen to live on the hill because it's "far away from anyone else," he starts to feel lonely as he gets older; he's tired of playing checkers by himself and making his own tea. So the giant makes the perilous trip down the hill to a nearby town. The inhabitants flee in terror--except for a light-skinned, redheaded girl named Arabella who doesn't run away because "her legs were too short and her heart was too brave." Arabella's parents are too busy to play with her, so she's eager for a friend. She and the giant spend the day playing checkers, reading books to each other, and having a tea party with mud cookies and pretend tea made from water, prompting the giant to offer to bring real tea next time. The folksy flow of the unrhyming yet rhythmic text lends itself well to reading out loud, but the breathtaking, painterly illustrations are the true stars of this book, creating a landscape to explore in each two-page spread and lending expressiveness even to the animal characters. A simple, old-fashioned tale brought to life by stunning visuals. (Picture book. 4-8)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From Booklist

November 1, 2023
Grades K-3 Tired of entertaining himself and making himself cups of tea, an old, gentlemanly giant leaves his home, walks down the rocky hillside, and enters the seaside town below. Residents scream and flee--all but youngest one, Arabella, a little girl who doesn't run but stands and stares at the giant. "She barely came up to his ankle," but she bravely smiles at him. Together they play checkers, read to each other, and drink tea from tiny cups. Before he leaves, she lends him one of her favorite dolls so that he won't be lonely at home before they meet again. And the next time, he brings enormous cups and tea to share with his new friend. Yolen creates an initially intimidating, but reassuringly gentle, civilized giant. An accomplished Italian illustrator, Domeniconi contributes digital images with sympathetic characters, soft colors, and a polished look. He emphasizes the size difference between the two friends, while creating a monumental landscape for the giant's surroundings and a cozy setting for the child's home. A handsome picture book celebrating intergenerational friendship.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From Publisher's Weekly

September 25, 2023
In this classic-feeling fairy tale, an elderly giant with pale skin and a long white beard has grown weary of his reclusive life on a mountaintop overlooking the ocean. "He was tired of pretending by himself," writes Yolen (the How Do Dinosaurs Say series), "tired of playing checkers by himself, tired of reading out loud to himself, tired of singing both the soprano and the bass parts in all the songs." When the giant tromps into town for companionship, his arrival scares off everyone except pale-skinned Arabella, a redheaded, pigtailed child who also experiences loneliness ("No one in town had time to play checkers or anything at all with her"). After the two engage in a game and jump-rope, and read Arabella's books, the giant happily participates in a doll tea party, drinking water tea and eating mud cookies. Italian illustrator Domeniconi matches the text's composure, working in a formal painterly style that transports readers to a landscape suffused with golden light, at once magical and very human. There's no big revelation, no moment of conflict-just the quiet joy exuding from two people who have found a boon companion. Ages 5—9.