Berk, Ari. The Secret History of Giants. Templar, 2008.
“Gentle Reader and friend of the Secret Folk,” are the inviting opening lines from Ari Berk’s book, The Secret History of Giants, an intriguing collection of lore for children about Giants throughout history. With this invitation, readers can explore both the world of Giants, and the traces left behind by the Giants in their own world. The book tells more than a story about Giants, but is organized creatively into a presentation by the ancient Order of the Golden Quills to unveil the various lives of Giants. This creates an interesting learning environment in which children are free to interact with the pages, and discover the fascinating world of the Great Folk.
Engaging Design for Children
The design of the book is aesthetically pleasing to both sight and touch. The cover is embossed and features the illustration of the face of a wild-haired, friendly-looking giant. This attractive quality compliments the almost musical language of Berk’s narrative. The integration of myth and creativity is highly imaginative and also comprehensive, spanning several millennia of different Giant-lore, but organized in a way that is neither overwhelming, nor sporadic.
Each page contains features that have been designed to take the reader deeper into the realms of myth by allowing her or him to open up hidden areas on the book to reveal stories, games, or engaging information that pertains to the particular page theme. The language of Berk’s narrative is inductive and draws the reader into the book the further she or he reads.
Familiar Folklore
The first part of the book describes the culture and comforts of Giants, including their weapons, tools, clothing, consumption habits, as well as work ethic. Once a detailed form of a Giant is formed in the reader’s imagination, Berk then takes the reader on a journey around the world to see the various Giant cultures.
However, not all the stories are new to the reader. The Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe appears in the section about Giant “fashion” (even though Giants lack a word for the concept), and Berk explains that such gifts demonstrate a Giant’s good-nature and generosity. He also says that claims “that the shoe was some kind of trap set by a hungry giant to catch a make a meal of the old woman’s children is utterly absurd.” Expanding existing knowledge is one of the best aspects this book has to offer readers young and old.
Lessons to be Learned
Berk also incorporates elements of courtesy. In Tall Tales of Travelers, Berk shares account by other secret folk, and then provides a response from the order. These accounts include biases and discrimination against Giants. The note from the Order below the different accounts say, “It is always best to ask polite questions when meeting new folk instead of leaping to strange, unfounded assumptions about them.” Such lessons apply to more than just the mythic creatures presented in the book, but also resonate true beyond the scope of the book, and into the reality of the reader. These are the components that make The Secret History of Giants more than a children’s book, but a valuable tool for teaching children the fundamentals of social etiquette in an engaging way.
The Secret History of Giants makes a nice addition to any child’s library as well as any elementary school library because of its multi-textured literary merits and engaging creativity. It serves as an excellent anthology of the mythological stories associated with giants. This collection reveals the wondrous Giants in our backyard.
 |
