The Earth Giant - Softcover

Melvin Burgess was born in London in 1954. He began to train as a journalist and has had a variety of jobs as diverse as bricklaying and silk-screen printing. An Enterprise Allowance Scheme gave him the chance to develop his writing and his children's books are highly regarded. He has been short-listed for the Carnegie Medal three times - for THE CRY OF THE WOLF, AN ANGEL FOR MAY and THE BABY AND FLY PIE. The last title was also short-listed for the Guardian Prize. Melvin lives in Lancashire.

Grade 5-7. This British fantasy has an intriguing premise, but fails to reach its potential. The Earth Giant is a little girl from another planet who traveled long ago to Earth by somehow twisting time and space. However, this phenomenon can only happen every 5000 years. The last time the twisting occurred, she was injured and forced to hide asleep in the ground until the next opportunity. As she is waking up in preparation to return home, she contacts Amy through the power of feelings telepathically delivered, and sends her messages asking her to help her escape. Amy attempts to hide and feed her new friend, while Giant waits for her parents to come and take her home. Curious about his sister's strange activities, Peter, her protective older brother, also becomes involved in the adventure, but is unable to keep the secret. The story leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Readers never learn why Amy can communicate with Giant, yet Peter is unable to do so. It is never explained how the creature got to Earth in the first place, or why her parents left her there. The relationship between Peter and his parents does not seem to be a healthy one, as they continually give all of their attention to Amy; yet this issue is never addressed. Fans of British fantasy can be better served by other authors, such as Diana Wynne Jones.?Tracy Taylor, Los Angeles Public Library
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