The Lonely Giant

Newcomer Ambrose’s giant is prone to “pulling up trees as though they were weeds” and “smashing and mashing mountains,” which leaves the forests bereft of wildlife. Yet he’s actually a very pleasant fellow. He’s nicely dressed, with a big bald head and mild features drawn in soft charcoal lines. He doesn’t mean to ruin things—it’s just his nature. When he finds one last little yellow bird singing, he cages her. “Now you can sing to me whenever I want,” he tells her. A poignant series of panels shows the giant gazing into the cage through the bars; the bird is too sad to sing. He frees her, and he sees clearly for the first time: “I must fix what I’ve broken.” He sows seeds and tends them and, over the years, trees and wildlife return. The allegory of ecological ruin won’t be lost on children, and the scenes of the restored forest give the story hope. It places the blame for environmental destruction not on evildoers, but on thoughtless but basically good people who weren’t really thinking as they smashed and mashed. Ages 4–8. (Dec.)