Once I was a Giant by Zeno Sworder

"I never lost my sense of wonder for trees."

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. 

Image source: Thames and Hudson

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.

I love this quote from the teachers notes:  It is impossible not to feel a strong sense of empathy and connection with both the pencil that was once this magnificent tree and her small friend, the wanderer. The book elicits in readers a moment to pause and view the world through a different lens, one that carefully regards, respects and notices nature.

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.

With incredible drawings and a graphic style illustrating the natural world in all its glory, this powerful story reminds us of humanity’s connection to nature. Portraying the life of a tree from a little seed through to a giant forest elder, Once I was a Giant explores the theme of the cyclical nature of all life, with examples such as eggs in a nest hatching into hungry chicks. By the award-winning author of My Strange Shrinking Parents, this picture book is truly a work of art to pore over again and again, each time discovering new wonders. You’ll never look at a pencil in the same way again! Readings Melbourne

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:

Tanglewood

(Zeno suggests this in his teachers notes along with The Red Tree by Shaun Tan)

Once I was a tree 

The tree at number 43

One tree

Toby Alone

(This is a novel for older readers translated from French)

I am also very keen to see this 2025 Korean wordless book. Read the Kirkus star review.

Finally in the teachers notes Zeno Sworder references Silver People: A Tale from the Panama Canal (UQP) by Margarita Engle as a text to share with high school students. I am a huge fan of Margarita Engle (I met her at an IBBY Conference). I have shared several of her books in this blog. 

A Squiggly Line by Robert Vescio illustrated by Kathy Creamer

 

Is this book meant to convey some really deep meaning or life message? The words of the text do seem slightly philosophical, but it just doesn’t quite work for me at that deeper level perhaps because the illustrations, while fun and creative, seem to be aimed at a very young audience. 

There are other books about pencils and drawing which break the fourth wall like this one – Bear Hunt by Anthony Browne and the classic book Harold and the Purple crayon. 

This book actually seems a little derivative of those earlier and famous titles. 

Some of my questions when I read this book:

• Where did the sailor hat come from? 
• What is the role of the dog – a bystander? He seems quite threatening at times.
• Why did the mouse draw a boat? Is he preparing for an adventure?
• Where did the red ball come from? The size seems out of proportion with the mouse but if it is smaller than the mouse then it might be swallowed by the dog (if indeed it is his plaything?).
• If the mouse is offering advice to the dog, then the final illustration does not make sense because the dog looks worried about what he is seeing and for some strange reason his eyes have red vein lines? 

I also found the blue fluffy coat worn by the dog a little odd. 

Book design: I wish the designer had not included all of those full stops.   

I found the final page quite confusing.  The mouse says "ta-daa!" because he has successfully drawn his boat and is now able to sail away from the dog? Oh, and notice his pencil keeps changing from blue to brown to red back to blue and finally green. I guess this is hinted at in the pencil shavings on the front end paper.

Publisher blurb: A Squiggly Line is a story about the pursuit of one’s dream to create a masterpiece, similar to the rules of taming the life we live. The boy in the story starts with a blank page…he doesn’t know much about what he’s about to draw, but he knows he has a grasp on how to make it happen. During the process, even though his drawing may seem squiggly and messy at first, he soon discovers surprises along the way–surprises that he never thought existed. And from that moment, his creation comes to play.

But having said all of that I think it would be good to add this book to a preschool or infants school library and I like the pencil itself, I really like the end papers which, as I said, are littered with pencil shavings, and the stark white pages work well. Here are some teachers notes with very detailed art ideas. 

You could pair The Squiggly Line with this book by Anthony Browne:

You can tell that this book confuses me - which is strange because it is surely a simple idea. I read the comments of one commentator who really liked this book. She said it could be aimed at unlocking emerging (and reluctant) writers? I confess this idea is a little to obscure or intellectual for me.

Here is a comment by another reviewer: The lines the mouse creates shows that when things are in your way, go high. Or when things are tough pause and be clever. Robert Vescio shows us that imagination is a good thing and staying the course, going with the flow, and sometimes changing directions will eventually get you where you need to be. Cannonball Read (Raising funds for the American Cancer Society).

And the US bookseller Barnes and Noble said: Told in a unique way full of play and creativity, the story will send a powerful message about the endless possibilities of having fun with one’s imagination. It will help children to explore how they can turn a simple squiggly line into a playful idea. A Squiggly Line is a fun and entertaining story about how life is very much the same as a squiggly line. Our squiggly line, our life, is shaped by the directions we take in our lives and how we can develop the confidence and ingenuity to overcome the problems that try to trip us up. A Squiggly Line is a story about embracing life’s journey and creating the life you want. It shares lessons for life. It offers great advice for anyone. It’s a simple message about life and what it entails to sail on a pursuit of one’s dreams. This story will appeal to children graduating, celebrating a milestone or mastering the first day of school. It’s a great inspirational story to motivate children. Like the brave little mouse in the story, we all have a life that yearns to be created!

Here is a previous Robert Vescio book that I really enjoyed:

Finding You

Bear Hunt Anthony Browne

Tuesday Treasure

You may have heard of the idea of a picture book 'breaking the fourth wall'.  Back in 1979 when Bear Hunt was written I don't think we were using this term but if you need an example of this idea then pick up Bear Hunt and the companion volume Bear goes to Town by Anthony Browne. Of course Harold and the Purple Crayon also did this much earlier back in 1955.  Here is a blog post that explains what we mean by 'breaking the fourth wall.'

One day Bear went for a walk. 
So begins a ordinary day for bear perhaps but you might notice he is carrying a pencil. Bear is a bear and Bear is his name - notice the capital letter.
Two hunters were hunting. They saw Bear.
Now the reader becomes involved.  We hear a voice. An off stage narrator calls out:
Look out! Look out, Bear!
Bear takes his pencil and draws something - a post with a rope. Can you guess what will happen to the hunter? Yes, one hunter down but there were two hunters and the other one is still following our bear. The second hunter has a lasso.
Your turn again. You need to shout out:
Run, Bear, run!
What will Bear draw this time? He has to capture that lasso before it captures him.

And so the story continues. The hunters do not give up, but each time it seems he will certainly be captured, Bear takes his pencil and draws something clever or inventive or simply practical.

When you look at this book read it right through with a young child helping to warn the bear and then go back and look at the jungle plants. Anthony Browne loves to add smile moments - plants wearing ties, a blue finger hiding the leaves, shoes as leaves, ocean fish swimming between the plants, eyes are everywhere, hats and even some tiny socks and undies hanging on a clothes line. On the final page the plants are laughing as Bear flies away having completely foiled those hunters.

Goes to Town continues this style but with a slightly more sophisticated, even sinister story line.
One day Bear went to town.
He is still carrying his trusty pencil and wearing his smart polka dot bow tie.
Bear meets a cat and he kindly draws a great selection of foods when the cat says he is hungry.
Bear enjoys looking in shop windows especially the toy shop which is filled with bears -
I wonder if people eat them?
Then a voice calls:
Look out, Cat!
An animal catcher has picked up Cat. Bear grabs his pencil and draws a pair of roller skates so he can chase after the van which has a sinister skull painted on the side. The van is rushing down "Dead End Street".
Bear arrives at a building and sees Cat locked into a shed so he draws a ladder and a saw and climbs inside where he discovers farm animals - a cow, a sheep, a pig and a rooster. I think it is important to notice the animals are not "cartoonish" - they look like real farm animals. Is this place an abattoir or something worse?
Bear uses his pencil to organise their escape. Te guards come out in force and chase the animals but bear is able to stop them easily when he draws some banana skins.
Our group are not safe, though.
Look out behind you, Bear!

If you like the illustrations in these books with their surreal images another Anthony Browne book I highly recommend you hunt out is The Visitors who came to Stay by Annalena McAfee.

In 1988 a new edition of Bear Hunt was published with a different cover.