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Summary
Summary
"[Tess's] self-confidence grows to match her giant heart. A fanciful story of empowerment." --Kirkus
Internationally acclaimed and bestselling author-illustrator Dan Yaccarino presents a larger than life picture book about a girl with a heart as giant as she is.
Tess has a BIG problem.
She's a giant with an enormous wish to be like everyone else in the city of Myth-hattan. When she gives up on ever fitting in, she meets a friend just her size, and the two team up for a daring rescue. Can these misfits save the day--and the big city parade
This reassuring and heartwarming tale will empower young readers struggling to find acceptance, and it reminds us that there's a hero within every one of us.
Author Notes
Artist and freelance illustrator Dan Yaccarino graduated from the Parsons School of Design in New York in 1987.
Yaccarino's work has appeared in periodicals such as Rolling Stone, Playboy and New York magazine. AT&T, Mount Gay Rum, Gardenburger and other companies have used his images and illustrations in their advertising.
In 1993, Yaccarino published his first children's book, Big Brother Mike, and has since written or illustrated almost twenty more children's books.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Tess's town of Myth-hattan, everyone is some kind of mythical creature: there are centaurs and Minotaurs, fairies and mer-people, and nobody thinks twice if you have snakes for hair. Tess, however, is the only giant, the adopted daughter of fairy parents, and after a series of mishaps tied to tourist touchpoints in the real Big Apple (cracking the ice at a famous skating rink, accidently smushing a float in the city's big parade), she's convinced she doesn't belong anywhere: "I'm just too big!" But when she helps a giant green dragon with a sore paw, her life turns around as the two "became best friends right away, they were the same size!" And size does seem to matter (as does having a BFF who can fly) when the mayor of Myth-hattan starts to float off on a runaway parade balloon. This tale by Yaccarino (I Am a Story) follows a familiar arc, taking his putative misfit from wanting to be "like everyone else" to feeling she's "just the right size." His posterlike graphics, though, and obvious glee in sharing an alternate reality N.Y.C. (a map on the end pages shows "Grand Cyclops Station" and "The Lower Beast Side") infuse the story with goofy sweetness. Ages 4-8. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
The setting is Myth-hattan. Medusa walks her dachshunds. Business-suited centaurs and octopuses in fedoras go about their business. There is only one quality that stands out, apparently, and that is size. Tess, an otherwise conventional human, grows two stories tall. She knocks things over, she eats too muchand she just wants to be like everyone else. Things begin to look up when she makes friends with Smokey, a dragon whose size matches her own. They hang out together in Centaur Park playing fetch, swimming, and experimenting with fire breathing. Then they enact a daring rescue: when the Cyclops-mayor of Myth-hattan gets pulled into the sky by a parade balloon, Tess and Smokey bring him safely down to earth. As an its-okay-to-be-different parable, this one lacks logical rigor (its not Tesss size that saves the day but rather Smokeys flying abilityplus wheres Pegasus from the title page when you need him?), but the fun is in the details of the jaunty retro-style brush, India ink, and digital illustrationsgiant cupcake lowered on a crane, napping baby as large as a taxi, Staten Island Fairy, spot the Yeti in the crowd. sarah ellis March/April 2019 p 71(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A baby grows to be a giant on the fabled isle of Myth-hattan.Tess, a tiny swaddled bundle of joy, is adopted by two fairy parents with unfurled wings and swaying antennae. The family could not be happier. But Tess grows to epic proportions. She can't walk through Myth-hattan without causing mayhem, and she's still only a young tot. She accidentally crushes street-vendor carts with a single step and bumps her head on the Myth-hattan blimp flying by in the sky. She feels entirely out of place and lonely. When she tries to help with the big parade (never explicitly named, but the one with large balloon characters), everything ends in a tangled mess. She rushes to Centaur Park in despair. But when she finds a friend who is her size and their stature actually helps to save the day, her self-confidence grows to match her giant heart. The book is filled with insider Manhattan jokes (endpapers show a map including the Lower Beast Side and Monster Square Garden) and myriad mythical creatures strolling casually by; readers will delight in spotting them all. Tess and her parents all have pale skin; other, background humanoid characters feature brown, tan, and green skin. The inked lines are classic Yaccarino, curved and flowing; the color palette is muted, and many details are not filled in.Hidden humorous notes enhance a fanciful story of empowerment. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Infant Tess is adopted by a loving couple, who soon realize that their daughter is growing very large very rapidly. As she outgrows everyone her age, it becomes evident that Tess is a giant. Her wish to be just like everybody else is humorous, as the folks who live in Myth-hattan are a conglomeration of creatures: unicorns and centaurs live alongside folks with antennas, snakes for hair, wings, and elfin ears. Tess, however, is lonely, feeling as though she doesn't fit in anywhere until she befriends a fire-breathing dragon. As the two now-inseparable friends have to work as a team to save the mayor and the city's parade, they tell a satisfying tale of friendship and, ultimately, acceptance. Illustrations in india ink, brush, and Photoshop are clear, colorful, and filled with slice-of-life details. Entertaining endpapers reveal a map that highlights some of Myth-hattan's famous landmarks (The Lower Beast Side, the Staten Island Fairy, Monster Square Garden). Readers will have fun perusing the mythical city's inhabitants, and will root for heroine Tess and her sidekick.--Maryann Owen Copyright 2019 Booklist