At the beginning of this book, we hear the voice of the pencil. "The picture book maker takes me out every night and dances me across a piece of paper. We rush from page to page ... " until the author runs out of ideas. Luckily the pencil has an important story of her own and the means to share it and so he begins with the words "once I was a giant."
Turn the page and we have an origin story which begins with a tiny plant reaching for the sun. We discover the young tree has shared her life journey with a tiny forest being. The tree names him The Wanderer. Seasons change, birds and insects enjoy their habitat in, below and under the tree. The tree itself grows to a majestic size. A considerable period of time passes ... but then disaster strikes.
"Machines are coming ... they are a day away."
"Last to leave was the wanderer. He gently touched his forehead to my bark."
Stop now and look around you. How many things in your room, or house, or street are made from wood. Where did this wood come from? I often think about towering telegraph poles and how they too once were trees. Our pencil narrator was once a tree, once a giant, but now, with all the work to write his story she is just a stub. That word stub nearly broke my heart but this is not the end.
Trees are part of the cycle of nature. The Wanderer knows exactly what to do with that pencil stub. The final end paper will restore your hope and faith in the power of nature.
Tonight, I am attending an event at a city bookstore with Zeno Sworder. I am so excited to finally meet him! Will I be brave enough to ask a few questions such as:
- Why did you decided to dispense with the usual title page format? Was it difficult to convince your publisher Thames and Hudson that your book should break with the usual convention of picture books?
- What do the letters on your pencil mean? I have been pondering this all week especially after I saw the giant pencil from the book as part of a display in a local chain bookstore.
- Who is The Wanderer?
- Can you explain the decisions you made to compose the title? Once I was a Giant - past tense? Yet at the end there is so much hope that this giant can return.
- Your first book This small blue dot was based on your experiences in your own family with your young child. My Strange Shrinking parents focused on your own migrant family and your relationship with your own parents. This third book takes a wider focus exploring nature and our human impact on our precious world. SO where to next?
This is a book to add to your library collection, and it is one you will want to share with your reading companion or larger group. In an art class, after reading this book slowly, and pondering the deeper meanings, Once I was a Giant is also a wonderful example of highly skilled art and page design.
You already know I am not entirely a fan of endorsements on the covers of books but the publisher has cleverly enticed the famous Shaun Tan to share his reaction to Once I was a Giant:
"A magical blend of ancient and modern storytelling, reminding us that all things are deeply connected in ways both known and unknown."
And Zana Fraillon said:
"A beautiful, wholly original story of hope and the more-than-human world. Once I was a giant is a stunning blend of language and imagery that sits in the mind long after reading. This is the work of a master picture-book creator."
My friend, who is a former Hans Christian Andersen judge, used the words enigmatic, wise, challenging, deep and breathtaking when I asked her for her reaction to Once I was a Giant. I will share the details of her review when I update this post next month.
With older students it would be good to research Daoist beliefs that "every living thing holds an essence, a mystery; that cannot be measured or counted or sorted." This is called bianhua. And you could also research the Buddhist idea of pratityasumutpada - the belief that the "relationships that hold together the world are based on interconnection and non-separation. Life is interwoven. We breathe in because trees breathe out." Here are some outstanding teachers notes written by Zeno Sworder.
From Zeno: This is a book where the tree is the protagonist and hero. As we all tumble towards an increasingly digital, atomised and urbanised world I wanted to make a story about the natural world that touches on ideas of interdependence, metamorphosis and impermanence. Trees make all of our lives possible but they are often absent from stories because we tend to only care and feel for characters that are like us. This story aims to bring trees alive for young people by telling an imaginative story rooted in recent scientific discoveries about the social lives of trees and their abilities to communicate, learn and feel. The story covers the entire span of an individual tree’s life and the intimate relationships it shares with the forest and the creatures that it nourishes and houses.
I have followed the career of Zeno Sworder with great interest intensified by my years as a CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) Picture Book of the Year judge 2021-23. In 2023 My Strange Shrinking Parents was the winner. Read my thoughts here. Kirkus said these words which could also apply to his newest book: This deceptively simple tale is laced with profound, beautifully wrought truths. I am certain Once I was a Giant will feature in the CBCA awards in 2026.
When you share Once I was a Giant with a group of younger students you could talk about Pencil Day 30th March. Here is a post from Kinderbookswitheverything with lots of books about pencils. Of course, Once I was a Giant does have much deeper themes but I think it could be fun to focus on pencils with your lower primary groups. Again, this is way too simplistic but (spoiler alert) when the wanderer plants the tiny piece of pencil I thought of that wonderful story of imagination from decades ago - The Lollipop Tree.
Reading Once I was a Giant I thought of these books - picture books and a novel:
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