The Green Giant – Book Review

Book Review
The Green Giant
By Katie Cottle
Published July 1, 2019

Why we chose this book:
When a review opportunity arose for this, I told T about it. He liked the sound of a giant who wants to end pollution. A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Mom's Review
Bea Green, whose name reflects the book's message, leaves the city to visit her grandfather. Whereas the city is gray, the grandfather's home is surrounded by lush gardens. Bea quickly discovers and befriends a plant giant who has sought refuge from urban pollution. After a delightful visit with the giant and his plant friends, she returns to the city. When she misses the greenery from her vacation, she plants the magic seeds from the giant. The final pages show a verdant urban environment.

The take-aways here are not just the obvious (pollution is bad, nature is under attack, and we need to fix it), but also that we can indeed effect change. The impact of Bea's one tiny act – sprinkling a few seeds – is far-reaching, extending out from her apartment to the entire city. The narrator voices a hope that one day the green giant can return to the city, which is easy to apply globally. The Green Giant implies that individuals can actively tackle the climate crisis and prompts readers to do this. (This publication is timely, given The Guardian's July article about the effects of planting trees). Moralizing a bit? Sure. Inspiring? Also yes! It's the fun giant, the magical seeds, and the whimsical illustrations that create a tone of encouragement, not preaching. The final take-away: We can mitigate some of the effects of climate change by taking personal responsibility.

Son's Review
(Age: 4)
General thoughts:
"The book was different from what I thought. I thought the city was being too polluted that the grampa couldn't live there, but the giant couldn't instead. The city became too polluted and the green giant couldn't live there anymore."

On the magic of the book:
"The magic is real in the book. Some [plants] are guys, and some are just plants. Some plants are magic and some are not. The plants with faces are magic."