Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Barefoot Helen and the Giants

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Helen is a fine hand with a slingshot, and more than at home in the woods. After all, she was raised by bears for a time. When she stumbles on the castle of three evil giants, she comes up with the perfect plan to rid the land of them. Well, almost perfect…. The biggest and meanest giant catches her, and forces her to help him kidnap the Princess Antoinette. Always quick on her hairy bare feet, Helen manages to save the sleeping princess and finish off the giant, before heading quietly back to the woods. No one knows who the giant killer is, and Helen isn’t talking. Antoinette and her father, the king, are determined to find the hero, and come up with a plan of their own.

Andy Jones’s hilarious new folktale adaptation/middle reader Barefoot Helen and the Giants is jam-packed with adventures and tales of adventure. It celebrates brave and resourceful girls, blended families, and storytelling itself.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      November 1, 2020
      A spunky girl takes on three fearsome giants in this rousing tale. Fostered by black bears, a human orphan climbs trees, sleeps in caves, and catches salmon with her fingers. Discovered in the woods by a childless couple who adopt her and name her Helen, the girl learns to talk, eat with a knife and fork, and sleep indoors--but she always remains barefoot. One day Helen happens upon a castle where she spies a trio of infamous "cruel killer-giants" feasting and decides to attack them with her slingshot. She eliminates two of them, but, alas, the third giant--Bulleybummus--captures Helen, coercing her to help him kidnap Princess Antoinette for ransom. Helen, however, cleverly manages to behead him and returns to the woods, leaving Princess Antoinette determined to discover the giant-killer's identity by opening an all-day, all-night storytelling hotel, hoping it will attract the mystery giant-slayer to tell her story. "Inspired by many versions of similar stories from Newfoundland and Labrador and from all over the world," according to a concluding note, this earthy, quirky, humorous version blends traditional folktale elements with the contemporary spin of a strong female heroine who lives happily-ever-after with the princess in a "s'blendid family." What begins as a single story evolves into stories within stories, pulled together in a surprising climax. Striking, original illustrations, worked in black and white as well as vibrant color, capture the fierce dramatic action in a trim more usually seen in picture books than middle-grade fiction. Redheaded Helen is as white as paper, the princess has beige skin and brown hair, and "their seven ten-toed children" are racially diverse. A twisted tall tale told with verbal and visual bravado. (Folktale. 8-10)

      COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

Loading