Giant - by Bart Pincé (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

"Simultaneously soothing and invigorating--a paean to childhood creativity." --Kirkus Reviews

I'm looking for something, but I don't know what it is. Something is making me feel restless. I think it's the giant.

Do you know that feeling? The feeling you have when you can't find something, even though you know it's there? Sometimes, what you're looking for is closer than you think. You just need to close your eyes and open your heart.

An imaginative book with stunning illustrations about playing, wondering, and connecting. For dreamers ages 5 years and up.

Review Quotes

Playtime in the park reaches enormous levels of fun. Eyes covered, a tan-skinned child counts to 10, thus starting an epic game of hide-and-seek in search of an elusive giant. Roaming a bustling, picturesque park, the youngster slides down boulders and climbs to the top of trees but has no luck. With determination and some reflection, though, the child eventually finds the giant in the most unexpected of places. This is a lovely look at the importance of imaginative play and our grounding connection to the natural world. Originally published in Belgium and the Netherlands and translated from Dutch, Prince's first-person text speaks to the everyday joys of childhood, ones that can't be found in screens or devices. ("The wind picks up again. The leaves around me are dancing. The tree begins to sway gently. Wee, what fun!"). De Hae's playful, watercolorlike illustrations depict a setting that's simultaneously cozy and vast through creative use of perspective and warm purple, green, and yellow tones. Perceptive readers will delight in catching all of the sneak peeks of the cagey colossus, whose complexion takes on the same hue as the surrounding landscape. Simultaneously soothing and invigorating--a paean to childhood creativity.-- "Kirkus Reviews"

About the Author

Bart Pincé (1988) lives in Bree, Belgium. He likes to figure out where something comes from and to reflect on beauty, especially when it is hidden at first.

After years of volunteering in youth work and gaining professional experience in education and the children's book sector, he can easily look at the world through a child's eyes.

Bart prefers to create picture books with a playful tone, to help readers drift off into a dreamlike world.

Ian De Haes was born in Leuven, Belgium in 1983. He now lives in Brussels and has been creating children's books since 2011. After studying computer graphics and illustration, he became a bookseller specializing in children's books. He met Charlotte Bellière, with whom he created his first picture book. Together they have two children who inspire their stories. Ian also works with other authors from time to time and writes some of his own books, always in French. He is no longer a bookseller but now works full-time as an author and illustrator.

Kolos is the first book Ian has illustrated in Dutch (translated into English as Giant). He worked with watercolors and a digital tablet. This mix of traditional and digital techniques can be found in several of his books.