newbery honor author 

new york times bestseller

Gennifer Choldenko
Gennifer Choldenko
A Giant Crush

Find this book at your favorite library or used bookseller.

A Giant Crush

writ­ten by Gen­nifer Chold­enko
illus­trat­ed by Melis­sa Sweet
ages 5 to 8
G.P. Put­nam’s Sons, 2011
ISBN 978–0‑399–24352‑3

Synopsis

As Valen­tine’s Day gets clos­er, Jack­son has a hard time keep­ing his crush on Cami a secret. His choco­late hearts end up next to her lunch and he can’t hide his red face when the huge Valen­tine he made for her lands on her desk. Coop­er thinks Jack­son should just talk to her, but Jack­son’s afraid she does­n’t like him. Carter Corey always makes fun of how big he is—what if Cami thinks he’s a giant, too? Luck­i­ly, Cami is not afraid to tell Carter that if she had a boyfriend, he’d be total­ly giant.

A warm, fuzzy book that’s per­fect for boys and girls on Valen­tine’s Day.

Awards and Recognition

  • Top 10 Valen­tine’s Day Chil­dren’s Books, What Mama Wants

reader with A Giant Crush
Thanks to Rachee of Say it, “Rah-shay” for per­mis­sion
to use this pho­to of a hap­py reader.
A Giant Crush in a bookstore window
Check out this book­store dis­play —
A Giant Crush has the place of honor.

Reviews

“Both Choldenko’s spot-on play­ground dia­logue and Sweet’s char­ac­ter­is­ti­cal­ly loose and light­heart­ed mixed-media art­work show an abun­dance of empa­thy (and a dash of humor) when it comes to mat­ters of the heart.” (Pub­lish­ers Week­ly)

“Set­ting this apart from oth­er hol­i­day fare is the friend­ship between Jack­son and Coop­er … Share this along with the author’s pre­vi­ous titles: How to Make Friends with a Giant, illus­trat­ed by Amy Wal­rod (2006), and Loud­er, Lili, illus­trat­ed by S.D. Schindler (2007). Each address­es issues that affect self-esteem in a gen­tle, enter­tain­ing way.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Chold­enko is spot-on in her por­tray­al of the ago­nies and excite­ment of ele­men­tary school love.” (Bul­letin for the Cen­ter of Children’s Books)

“Sweet­’s water­col­or, gouache, and mixed-media illus­tra­tions are sun­ny and expres­sive, and bring the char­ac­ters and their world to life. The light­heart­ed pic­tures are a per­fect match for the breezy text.” (School Library Jour­nal)

“Charm­ing, sat­is­fy­ing and delight­ful.” (Rochester & Gene­see Val­ley Par­ent)

“Read­ers will cheer Jack­son on as he puts aside his shy­ness and it pays off.” (Deseret News)

“Girls and boys alike will love this sweet tale.” (Baton Rouge Par­ents Mag­a­zine)

“Fun Valen­tine sto­ry stress­es self-esteem, friend­ship.” (Com­mon Sense Media)

“A Valentine’s Day tale which is both empa­thet­ic and humor­ous.” (Books­ForKids blog)

“This book is adorable, address­ing crush­es in such an inno­cent way.” (Say it Rah-Shay blog)