newbery honor author 

new york times bestseller

Gennifer Choldenko
Gennifer Choldenko
How to Make Friends with a Giant

Find this book at your favorite library or used bookseller.

How to Make Friends with a Giant

writ­ten by Gen­nifer Chold­enko
illus­trat­ed by Amy Wal­rod
ages 4 to 9
G.P. Put­nam’s Sons, 2006
ISBN 978–0‑399–23779‑9

Synopsis

Jake is the short­est kid in his class. And new kid Jaco­mo is the tallest.

When Jake meets Jaco­mo at the bus stop he can’t believe they’ll be class­mates —  Jaco­mo is so tall. Taller than tall. A GIANT.

When the oth­er kids tease him, lit­tle Jake comes to his defense. He knows fit­ting into their first grade class isn’t going to be easy for some­one as big as Jaco­mo, but pret­ty soon the two of them find that when they work togeth­er, they have a team that’s just the right size.

A fun­ny book par­ents can read out loud or first grade stu­dents can read on their own!

Reviews

“Halfway through read­ing aloud How to Make Friends With A Giant, I real­ized my ele­men­tary-aged chil­dren were com­plete­ly silent. The hush that accom­pa­nies hear­ing any ver­sion of a uni­ver­sal truth had tak­en over the room. Gen­nifer Chold­enko’s book delight­ful­ly speaks to the com­mon wish of all chil­dren to blend in on their first day at a new school.” (Jen­ny Mor­ris, The Decatur [AL] Dai­ly)

“The old adage about oppo­sites attract­ing proves true in this per­cep­tive por­trait of a friend­ship between the short­est and tallest boys in the class … Wal­rod’s gog­gle-eyed car­toons accen­tu­ate Jaco­mo’s dif­fer­ence from the oth­ers by mak­ing his head as big and round as a plan­et, while Chold­enko shows that the best way to get over your own inse­cu­ri­ties is to help some­one else with theirs.” (The Horn Book)

“Choldenko’s sto­ry sug­gests that, when it comes to friend­ship, size doesn’t mat­ter … By story’s end, Jake has earned him­self a new friend and, even though he may not have grown in inch­es, his expe­ri­ence has giv­en him an immea­sur­able boost in his sense of self. (“This was a good day. I have nev­er felt so tall.”)” (Pub­lish­ers Week­ly)

“This is a quirky tale of two oppo­sites who find com­mon ground because they are regard­ed as dif­fer­ent, but who togeth­er make a good team.” (School Library Jour­nal)

“The small­est kid in class cham­pi­ons a huge new­com­er in this deft, con­vinc­ing sug­ges­tion that size does­n’t mat­ter.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Size does­n’t real­ly mat­ter as two boys become best friends. Nev­er mind that one is tiny and the oth­er taller than the first grade teacher … With lots of good cheer, Chold­enko gives a kid-pleas­ing mod­el for how it is done.” (San Fran­cis­co Chron­i­cle)

“Chold­enko, who wrote the New­bery Hon­or book Al Capone Does My Shirts, returns with anoth­er intrigu­ing title. … Wal­rod’s whim­si­cal illus­tra­tions add a light touch to the images of the giant-head­ed kid with the trem­bling lips and his small, com­pas­sion­ate pal.” (Hous­ton Chron­i­cle)

“Gen­nifer Chold­enko’s chap­ter books for young peo­ple are leg­endary, and now we find she shines in a pic­ture book as well … How to Make Friends with a Giant is a book that teach­es friend­ship with any­thing but a heavy hand.” (Pro­vo City Library Book Review)

“In its pages, Jake and Jaco­mo become best friends despite their very dif­fer­ent sizes, and Jake’s kind words and actions show how small acts can make even a very big kid feel includ­ed.” (Water­mark Books)