The Giant of Jum
by Elli Woollard
and Benji Davies
Henry Holt and Company, 2017. First published in the United Kingdom in 2015. 28 pages.
Rhyming picture books are often awful. But when done right – like The Giant of Jum — they beg to be read aloud.
The Giant of Jum was a grumpy old grouch
who was constantly grizzling and grumbling.
And when he was hungry, he’d slobber and slouch
and say, “Oh, how my tummy is rumbling!”“Fee!” he said, and “Fi!” he said, and “Fo!” he said, and “Fum!
How I pine, how I wish, for a child on a dish.
Little children are yummy yum yum!”
So he sets out to find some tasty children. He continues to say those four syllables, but in a different order each time – resulting in a nice rhyme.
He does find children, and they are delighted to have some tall about. Why, he can help them get their ball down from the top of a fountain and rescue their cat from a tree!
The ending is reminiscent of Troll and the Oliver — because when someone thinks he’s hungry for children, who wouldn’t be happier with cake?
This one isn’t terribly profound, and there may be a few holes in the story – but it sure is fun to read. I’m going to set it aside for storytime.
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/giant_of_jum.html
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