Fig's Giant

McCaughrean, G 2005, Fig's Giant, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Reviewed in Reading Time, 50(1), p. 23.

For those who wish that children still read 'the classics', Fig's Giant will be most suitable. Fig meets a giant, Lemuel Gulliver, who has survived a shipwreck and arrived at her home of Lilliput. Fig is able to overcome language barriers (as children can) and take care of her friend. Gulliver delights Fig with his 'treasures' of spectacles, a handkerchief, a comb, and a pocket watch. Young readers will be amused by Fig's reaction to ordinary objects through their descriptions and how Fig and her friends use them.

Although children may not have the literary or historical knowledge to fully appreciate the book, adult readers will. The book is an excellent stepping stone to a classic whose commentary on social and political events is still applicable today.