The Last Giants - by Francois Place (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

2023 Winner of the Prix Albertine Jeunesse

An illustrated fantasy, told as fact, with a message for children and adults. The tale of a lost race of giants and what happens when their existence, and their location, becomes known by the outside world.

After finding a huge tooth on the docks, English explorer Archibald Leopold Ruthmore sets out to seek the race of giants to whom the tooth belongs and discovers nine giants, the survivors of a singularly gentle and kindly race. He lives among them for ten months, and on returning home he makes a mistake that he regrets forever--he writes a book revealing their existence and location.

School Library Journal said, "Part fable, part fantasy, and part morality tale, this unusual French import takes the form of a 19th-century explorer's journal, illustrated with intricate watercolors... The powerful and thought-provoking messages require reflection and may be used to spark lively discussions."

Review Quotes

Praise for The Last Giants

"The moral is delivered with subtlety, and Place's delicate, painstakingly detailed period paintings play a significant role in conveying his profound message. Originally published in the author's native France, the book has there received three major prizes, including the 1992 Grand Prize for Children's Literature."--Publishers Weekly

"Part fable, part fantasy, and part morality tale, this unusual French import takes the form of a 19th-century explorer's journal, illustrated with intricate watercolors... The powerful and thought-provoking messages require reflection and may be used to spark lively discussions."--School Library Journal