Review: The Giant Seed by Arthur Geisert

The Giant Seed
Arthur Geisert

Enchanted Lion

ISBN: 9781592701155
$14.95
Grades K-2
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Don’t repeat yourself. In literature, we hear that a lot, right? Authors shouldn’t dip their bucket in the same well too many times, lest things get old. The audience gets bored. I would like to include “…unless you know what you’re doing” to that time-honored adage. With The Giant Seed, Arthur Geisert mines some familiar territory (especially for those familiar with his last book, the outstanding Ice) – wordless, porcine, and survivalist. But when you know what you’re doing, as Geisert does, and can create stories with this much beauty and imagination, that stuff about going back to the well goes out the window.

Whereas last time our band of pigs set out in search of water, this time the situation is even more immediate and threatening – a nearby volcano is erupting and threatening to destroy their village. But thanks to a massive dandelion that is just about to release its seeds, the pigs form an escape plan. They grab onto the giant white puffs and let the wind take them out of harm’s way.

The artwork is classic Geisert – finely detailed etchings with a subtle palette. Although the world is fantastical, attention is always paid to making things seem plausible.

A winning addition to the Stories Without Words series from Enchanted Lion, the imagination-expanding The Giant Seed stands on its own.

Review copy from the publisher.