ReadItDaddy's Second Book of the Week - Week Ending 24th April 2015 - "The Giant of Jum" by Elli Woollard and Benji Davies (Macmillan Children's Books)

Oh my, there are just SO MANY great books around at the moment that our poor old "Book of the Week" slot is straining under the pressure. We're doubling up our Book of the Week nominees this week with a fantastic new tale from awesome poet and writer Elli Woollard, and equally awesome illustrator Benji Davies - and a tale of a huge giant with a rumbling tum.

"The Giant of Jum" is Elli and Benji's first collaboration (and hopefully not their last) for Macmillan, introducing us to The Giant of Jum - who loves nothing more than striding the landscape, scarfing down children. Baked in a pie, crumbled over cornflakes, the giant is hungry and nothing will stand in his way.

Only...well the thing is, the local children could do with a giant hand. Can he retrieve a lost ball? Rescue a naughty kitten stuck up a tree?

The Giant is only temporarily distracted, his true foe is Jack the Giant Killer who will be hunted down and mercilessly toasted and scoffed!

But is the giant really as menacing and scary as he wants to be?

Elli's rhymes are tight and perfect as you'd expect from the genius behind "Taking words for a Stroll". Benji's illustrations instantly feel fresh but classic, as we've come to expect from such a whopping giant-sized talent whose books are always amongst the most read on our shelves. It's a book that will become a sing-along-read-along favourite amongst younger readers who will love the way Elli plays with repetition and verse to relate the story beautifully, and of course older readers who will drink up the verse and the visuals both exquisitely clever and detailed.

We truly hope the press release is right, and that this is just the beginning of a fantastic working partnership for Elli and Benji, we absolutely cannot wait to see what they come up with next.

Charlotte's best bit: Finding Jack (in the most unlikely place!) and GIANT CAKE!

Daddy's Favourite bit: It reads as good as it looks, it looks as good as it reads, it's got "massive award winning best seller" stamped all over it. Perfecto!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Macmillan Children's Books)