The Selfish Giant

December 1, 1987
Wilde's poignant tale of redemption deserves the renewed attention this volume gives it. In the story, a fierce giant who forbids little children to play in his garden is befriended by one small fellow. The giant's heart melts, and he allows the children to enter the garden, but the special child doesn't return for some time. At last the child appears, this time with holes in his hands and feet. "You let me play once in your garden,'' he tells the giant. ``Today you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise.'' Mansell's illustrations combine a Tony Ross-like zaniness with a sense of the mysterious that perfectly underscores the story's spiritual theme. Ages 69.

January 31, 2000
An inventive manipulation of perspective and subtle shifts in palette mark Negrin's (Dora's Box) haunting paintings for this smooth retelling of Wilde's Christian allegory. Otherworldly in its angularity, the art intensifies the mystical quality of the narrative. The eponymous giant builds a high wall to keep children from playing in his lush garden. A dark, seemingly endless winter settles in, until the children return through a small hole in the wall, bringing spring with them as they climb into the trees. Yet winter still reigns in one far corner of the garden; there the giant spies a small boy who can't reach the lowest branches of a tree. Contrite, the giant lifts the tiny child into the tree, which then "burst into blossom." The giant destroys the wall and welcomes the children back into his garden, but this one boy does not return. At tale's end, many years later, the child reappears (with "two wounds on the palms of his hands and two in his little feet. They were the prints of nails") to repay the now elderly giant's kindness: "A long time ago you let me play in your garden. Now I have come to take you to my garden, which is called Paradise." Despite its loud redemptive note, children will probably need adult guidance in interpreting this classic story; fortunately, the handsome production welcomes young readers and the tale itself warrants the effort. Ages 5-8.

January 28, 2019
In a modern reimagining of Wilde’s classic tale, schoolchildren find refuge in a beautiful garden, but when a snarling, ginger-haired giant arrives, he angrily chases the children away and builds a “high wall” to keep them out—“He was a very selfish Giant.” But while spring flowers bud beyond the garden, winter persists inside. Bowman personifies the snow and frost as two vulpine figures clothed in garments of snowflakes and ice, the North Wind as an owl with bright blue eyes, and hail as a basket-toting baboon. As the seasons pass, the Selfish Giant hunkers down, wishing for spring; eventually, he hears music outside his window. The children have returned to the garden, now blooming, and the giant knocks down the wall. While Wilde’s unsettling ending and introduction of a Christ-like child bearing “the wounds of love” may prove perplexing for today’s readers, this remains a hopeful—and strangely timely—story about generosity and redemption. Ages 5–8.

February 27, 1995
Gallagher's (Moonhorse) eerily stylized paintings lend a haunting resonance to this moralistic tale of a hardened man who learns to open his heart. When the curmudgeonly Giant denies the local children access to his expansive garden, a great chill descends on them all. Winter lingers and spring refuses to scale the garden walls. But the children find a way into the beloved spot and the trees, grateful for the company and attention, begin to bloom. Seeing such beauty, the Giant is transformed and befriends his young neighbors, allowing them free rein. Not long afterward, a special boy appears to escort the old man to Paradise. Wilde's lessons are easily deciphered, though children may be confused by the overt religious imagery at tale's end. The towering but somehow gentlemanly Giant on the book's black-bordered jacket cuts an intriguing and imposing swath. Meanwhile, Gallagher's gallivanting and ghostly-white Snow, Frost and North Wind characters and her warm and golden images of happy children and gorgeous blossoms create plenty of drama. All ages.