Grandad's Secret Giant

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Grandad's Secret Giant is a fabulous book written by the same author who brought us The Bear and the Piano. Billy, our main character, doesn't believe his loving Grandad when he tells him that there is a giant living in town, doing good deeds for all the residents of Gableview. Despite several attempts to convince his grandson, Grandad can't break down Billy's stubborn barrier and he refuses to believe that giant could move aroun town without being spotted. That is until a first hand experience changes his mind. This experience forces Billy to question his actions as he tries to undo a wrong. I read this book with my class of year 1 children and they loved it. Here are some of the things they said about it: 'I loved the colour pictures.' 'I really liked the ending.' 'I liked how the giant was described.' They all agreed that other children should have this book read to them and even mums and dads would enjoy it at bedtime. We would happily read this story, and others by David Litchfield, again.

This is an incredibly rich text, that would work beautifully as an in-depth shared class read for a sustained period of time (i.e. over several weeks, or as a focus text for a half-term). I think it would lend itself best to a Year 1 class (KS1), though could also be shared and enjoyed in a lighter-touch way in the final Summer term for a Reception Class.One day, a bear stumbles across a strange object: a piano. Over time, he learns how to play the instrument and the beautiful tunes can be heard across the forest. Eventually, the bear heads to New York to become a star. Plenty of teaching ideas have been inspired by this book, including creating colourful posters to promote the bear in New York, retelling the story from the bear’s point of view and writing instructions on how to play the piano. Can you think of other books that include giants? How are they similar / different? Could you write your own story about a giant (or a group of them)? Our early years programme offers a unique approach to equipping adults in your setting to help children develop all six crucial pre-reading skills plus the communication, concentration and confidence they need to ‘catch the reading bug’. Read more about how our unique programme Story Starters can help you ensure that children start their primary education ready to be taught to read. Make a stop-motion animation that retells this story or tells a similar story about somebody who is ‘different’. Little Billy doesn't believe his grandfather's stories about the humongous giant that helps out around his small town of Gableview. If there really were such a huge man running around, everyone would see him, he reasons. His grandfather replies that the giant might be staying hidden, because people tend to fear and distrust that which is unusual, or looks different to them. When Billy finally does encounter the giant, his initially frightened reaction seems to bear out his grandfather's words. Conscious that he has hurt the gentle giant, Billy sets out to find a way to make restitution...

David Almond introduces his new picture book, A Way to the Stars, a story about perseverance and finding a way to make dreams come true. The cover is stunning! The title and stars are embossed in silver; The palette features dark blues & greens — and cozy warm red tones. The village/neighborhood appears gingerbread-like! The endpapers turn from cold blue, at the beginning, to joyful warm hues — at the end: Mirroring the acceptance of the Giant. Litchfield uses pen, pencil crayons, watercolor - and digital tools to create the illustrations. The focus, in many of the spreads, lends a sparkling lifelike (and magical!) effect. The charming illustration and captivating story of a little creature lost on Earth wins high praise from teachers for its uplifting message that small acts of kindness can have lasting effects. A great book to accompany a KS1 Education for Social Responsibility lesson plan about kindness, like our Being Kind to You and Me mini scheme. Find the similes that Grandad uses to describe the giant. Can you think of any more? Make a simile notebook to collect examples that you find in other books.Grandad says ‘We all make mistakes sometimes’. Can you think of times when you have made mistakes? How did you deal with them? A kind giant, who attempts to remain unseen, befriends a small child… sound familiar? Nope… not the BFG 😜 It’s the second book by the creator of the heartwarming picture book - #TheBearAndThePiano. Con un poco más de paciencia, el protagonista de este cuento descubrirá algo más sobre lo que siempre le cuenta el abuelo, pero que nunca ha visto en persona. Y, de paso, se dará cuenta de algo muy importante. Bonitas ilustraciones! You may have some questions in your mind before you fill in your application form. Here are answers to our most commonly asked questions. If your question isn't answered here you can find out how to get in touch with our team. Bestselling author Alexandra Christo, author of TikTok sensation To Kill a Kingdom, introduces her new book, The Night Hunt (Hot Key Books), a dark...

Rather than recount a synopsis of the story (it's always a treat to read a quality book for the first time as a process of discovery without spoilers), I'm going to say a few brief words about my experience of reading it and how it could be applied to a Year 1 class, including cross-curricular opportunities to engender greater depth of engagement. A GIANT story of belonging and friendship from David Litchfield, author ofThe Bear and the Piano. \"He has hands the size of tables,\" Grandad said, \"legs as long as drainpipes and feet as big as rowing boats. Do you know who I mean?\" \"Yes,\" sighed Billy. \"The Secret Giant. But he's not real!\" Billy doesn't believe his Grandad when he tells him there's a giant living in his town, doing good deeds for everyone. He knows that a giant is too big to keep himself hidden. And why would he want to keep himself a secret? But as time goes on, Billy learns that some secrets are too BIG to stay secret for long... Billy spends a lot of time with Grandad listening to his stories, but this is one, he just does not believe is possible. Grandad tells Billy about the heroic secret giant who lives in town and goes around doing all the good things unnoticed. One early morning Billy finds himself face-to-face with this unimaginable giant; with 'hands the size of tables' and 'legs as long as drainpipes'. Billy doesn't quite have the reaction he expected and does what everyone else before him has - he runs away, screaming. Billy is terrified! Billy goes away feeling worried about his reaction and that maybe the giant is not that scary after all, maybe he's lonely and just wants to be loved like everybody else. This is a heart-warming story with a positive message, the age old saying of 'never judge a book by its cover'. This beautiful story introduces children to lots of discussion about the effects of our actions to others, accepting people who are different. A PSHE talking point would be to think of mistakes we have made before, think about a time when we might have hurt someone else's feelings and ideas of how we might make amends just like Billy and Grandad did for the secret giant. I could go on and on planning for year 1 around this book. I would use this high-quality text to motivate and engage children in a wide range of curriculum areas. This book lends itself beautifully to measuring length in maths. Investigating the length of parts of the giant and designing and creating a life size giant of their own. The text can be used for lots of character description writing. In this story, there is an unlikely hero, it encourages the children to think about heroes that don't necessarily need to wear a cape or a fancy costume. Heroes can be everyday people who choose to do right to/for others. Children could think about their own unlikely hero. What might he/she look like? What will he/she do that makes them a hero? I would use this with year 1 and 2 children to write an apology letters to the giant from Billy following his upsetting reaction. Simile poems would be great using some of the descriptive sentences used to describe the size of the giant; 'feet as large as rowing boats'. Picture book / Ages 5+ / Reviewed by Nikki Stiles, teacher. He has hands the size of tables, Grandad said, legs as long as drainpipes and feet as big as rowing boats. Do you know who I mean? Yes, sighed Billy. The Secret Giant. But he's not real! Billy doesn't believe his Grandad when he tells him there's a giant living in his town, doing good deeds for everyone. He knows that a giant is too big to keep himself hidden. And why would he WANT to keep himself a secret? But as time goes on, Billy learns that some secrets are too BIG to stay secret for long...Billy says that it was ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ for a giant to rescue their boat. Think of things that are certain, likely, unlikely and impossible. Use this as the starting point for other work about probability. The same author which brought us ‘The Bear and the Piano’ describes a grandson who doesn’t believe his grandad when he tells him that there’s a giant living in town. He remains stubborn until he sees the giant for himself, which leads him to question whether the giant is misunderstood. A classic tale of ‘never judge a book by its cover’, your young class will love the colourful illustrations, its uplifting ending and rich descriptions. In this story of hope and endurance, we follow a scientist and her team during their search for the elusive 'Giant Arctic Jellyfish'. Last week, I recommended Super Manny Stands Up, as it had been a favorite when I stuffed our front-facing bookshelf with books about kindness and inclusivity. Today, I bring you another favorite from that huge collection of books: The Boy and the Giant, written and illustrated by David Litchfield. People are scared of things that are different’. What does this mean? Can you think of examples of this? When is it good to be different?