The Spiffiest Giant in Town

nice, heart-warming story, with nice illustration. i have a couple books written by the author... this is one of the favorite.. i bought this book when my daughter was 3 years old.. she liked it very much.. she still likes it.. very much..

This is a fun book that early elementary students can enjoy on many levels. As a story, it is funny and engaging and develops in a predictable yet entertaining way. The scruffiest giant in town decides to change his image when a new clothing store opens up in town- a town inhabited by giants, humans, animals, and even an elf or two. In an instant, he transforms from the scruffiest to the spiffiest giant in town, and proudly heads home, walking tall. On his way home, however, he encounters several animals who are in trouble and without even thinking twice, the giant gives each animal an article of his new clothing in order to solve their problems. After each encounter, the giant walks off, singing a happy song that my students usually end up singing the rest of the day. Needless to say, the anticipation over when the giant ends up in his underwear and how the situation is going to be resolved brings much excitement and many giggles.
The illustrations are fun and colorful, and the students love to revisit the book and look at how the animals, people, and elves interact and behave in this unusual town. The giant is an excellent role model for all, and the appreciative response the animals give to the giant reinforces the concept of 'thanks' and 'being grateful'. This is an all around excellent read that rewards children in many ways during repeated readings.

This story is so darling! The toddlers up through the 2nd graders all ask for this one regularly. It tells of a kind giant who is willing to give freely of his possessions to help those in need.in the end every animal he helped gathered to thank him with a handmade card and gift. The children love to sing along with the little song the giant sings as he goes on his way home and they love to act this story out afterwards. I'm so glad we found this book!

Scottish writer Julia Donaldson's charming enchanted tale in an enchanted, magical land where George the giant lives over a small world of people, elves and animals where they all coexist peacefully. One day, George tired of his scruffy look decides on a giant makeover. So he goes to the clothes shop (Haberdashery) run by the small people. Soon he's traded his monk robe and worn-out sandals for the spiffiest shirt, pants, shiny black shoes and the works. But, you know what his new look don't last long. He runs into the small town's creatures who need help. Like the giraffe whose afraid his neck will caught cold, the goat who need a sail for his boat and the family of mice whose house burnt down. He gives the giraffe his tie, the goat his shirt and one of his shoes to the mice for a house. Before you know it George is left standing outside the shop in his skivvies! When the shop is closed, the only thing George can do is put back on his dirty old clothes again. In the end, George is thanked by all those he had helped. The lesson to be learned that it's more important to be kind and generous toward others than to be cool and spiffy :). This is a delightful tale for people of all ages to keep in mind the moral to the story. Don't we need more like George the gentle giant in the world?

Author Julia Donaldson acquired a faithful following of British readers when years ago she first penned her masterpiece, ?The Gruffalo?. Unfortunately, America has yet to recognize this work formally and despite her numerous awards, Ms. Donaldson has not yet reached household name status in the States quite yet. I decided to introduce myself to her work by reading a book that, to my mind, embodies silliness and morality twofold. ?The Spiffiest Giant in Town? is, to be brief, about a spiffy giant. And it?s top notch.

Our hero in this tale is George the giant. George lives in a small village that is an odd combination of fairy tale old and twenty-first century new. In this particular village, giants are just ordinary citizens like anybody else. It hasn?t escaped George?s notice that when it comes to clothing, he?s sorely in need. Every day George wears the same old brown sandals and the same old-patched up gown (which looks like nothing so much as a linen dress). Says George, ?I wish I wasn?t the scruffiest giant in town?. One day, George sees that a store is selling giant sized clothing. Delighted he purchases ?a spiffy shirt, a spiffy pair of pants, a spiffy belt, a spiffy striped tie?, and spiffy socks and shoes. He leaves looking like an Assistant Bank Manager and soon he comes across a giraffe who?s missing a scarf. George gives his tie to the giraffe to keep him warm then moseys out of town. Next he sees a goat who?s lost his sail. George?s shirt solves that problem forthwith. You can see where this is going. By the time everything is said and done George is severely depleted in terms of outerwear and his old clothes start looking a little less scruffy after all. Better still, the animals he helped get together to show their appreciation, and George is undeniably lauded.

First of all, I was delighted to discover that the opposite of ?scruffy? is ?spiffy?. I mean, it makes perfect sense when you say it that way, but it isn?t one of those things they teach you in school. George is such a likable hero that you?re rooting for him every step (and hop) of the way. I was especially pleased to find that the little song he sings himself after every animal rescue, rhymes. I can?t tell you how many books for kids I look through where even the simplest of rhymes either don?t work or are avoided altogether. This story is about the rewards that come with simply making other people happy. It?s a good strong message and one that I suspect too often gets lost in the shuffle of life sometimes.

Honestly though? I can?t claim that this book would have been even half the success that it is had it not been for artist Axel Scheffler. Mr. Scheffler (also living in England at the moment) has a fine cartoony style that fits the action of this tale perfectly. It's his details that make the book so great. Like the fact that other giants live in the town (top and straw hats abound). Or the fact that as George walks home in his clothes, his meticulously combed hair gets wilder and wilder and wilder. There are lots of these tiny details in the story, and together they make it a fabulous read. Could I have liked George half so much with a different artist? Maybe. But I wouldn?t count on it.

In the end, the moral of this tale is that spiffiness comes in all kinds of sizes. That sounds corny, but we?re dealing with a picture book here, people. Let the corniness abound. It?s just so pleasant to read a story like this that doesn?t condescend to its child audience and is a fun romp for parents as well. If you?re the kind of person who upon seeing the word, ?Spiffiest?, in the title of a book, immediately wants to read it, this book is for you. If that isn?t your reaction, good news. This book is still for you. Please feel free to take an inordinate amount of pleasure in it. It'll do you a spot of good.

Julia Donaldson writes incredibly engaging books for children with a lovely line in humour for adults. The illustrator, Axel, is my favourite illustrator for her works, he seems to bring a quirky but rich naivety to her lovely stories. And this is a lovely story.

It is of a giant who is the worst dressed in town so he goes to buy himself some spiffy clothes. As he leaves town he meets all these people and animals who have nothing - or have been hard done by, he gives them something of his (a tie, a sock and so on) until he is once again down to nothing. He gets his old clothes back and feels down for a while, until he realises all the friends that he has made along the way

A lovely story and a lovely message. The illustrations which seem to be in rich pastel, really draw out the engaging quirkiness of the story.

The roles for female characters in the illustrations are limited to cooking, cleaning and childcare. Just take the first page (the village scene) - the male characters seem to be doing something purposeful or important such as reading the newspaper/book, driving, or looking important (wearing a suit and carrying an umbrella). The male characters also vastly outnumber the female characters. The few female characters are 1) pushing a stroller, 2) hanging out the washing, 3) a lost looking old woman and a 4) helpless mouse who can't provide for her children on her own.

I really, really love this team of author and illustrator but unfortunately I didn't love this book. I have almost all of the books that Julia Donaldson/Axel Scheffler have written and this one is my least favorite. It's a cute enough book and story and the illustrations are nice, but it doesn't compare to their others. I think she has a great rhyming ability and all of her books are great read-alouds because of it, but this one only rhymes in certain places which makes it a little awkward to read.

We watched Elmo and David Beckham clip on Sesami Street. He stated that this is his favorite book to read for his children. It's funny and clever way to teach children to be giving and kind to others. Our child really likes it and asks to read every night. Thanks to David's suggestion.

I am an absolute Julia Donaldson fan and own almost all her stories. This one as well as probably her most famous story (The Gruffalo), must rate as some of the best children stories available. Snail & the Whale, Room on the Broom is must-buys as well. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

This book teaches personal irresponsibility and the virtues of begging.
First George buys new clothes and leaves all his old clothing behind.
A Giraffe begs for his tie complaining about his cold neck. George stupidly gives it up.
Next George meets a crying goat whose sail is ripped. He begs George for a new sail.
George takes off his shirt and gives it to the goat then sings about how smart he is.
On to a burned down house with a white mouse and lots of baby mice.
George should have immediately helped the mouse find shelter for her family but instead takes off his shoe and gives it to her.
George, now hopping on one foot, sings about how smart he is.
On to a camp where a fox has dropped his sleeping bag in a puddle in broad daylight, with plenty of time to dry before dark. The fox begs for a new bed. He should have tied his bag on his backpack securely but instead acts without any common sense at all and we're supposed to feel sorry for the fox. Uh huh... Off comes George's sock and in goes the fox. George is all the more stupid.
No constructive problem solving here, folks.
On to a bog where a howling dog too stupid to stay on the road begs for his belt as a pathway across a bog. George gives up his belt and his pants fall down.
Back to town he hops, holding up his pants, only to find his old clothes in a bag on the sidewalk, and into them he goes, and then goes home. There, the animals congregate and give him a card and a paper crown for being kind. I mean really.
I told my daughter about all the things that made him very stupid and never do that. I taught her that the only one he needed to help right away was the mouse and her children solve their problem right now so they have shelter. We reviewed what she should do for all the other animals that were begging to the giant.
DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK.

Another great Donaldson/Scheffler book! My preschoolers (as well as the teachers!) loved this book! It was fun to read and the pictures were fabulous!! Loved the message, too! The kids totally got it!!