1. Book design
2. Climate
3. Environmental protection
4. Floods
5. Freedom
6. Perspectives (Art)
7. Planet Earth
8. Pollution
9. Responsibility
10. Sustainability
11. Visual literacy

On the cover, a giant woman’s hair glints like golden seaweed, as she bends toward a girl clothed in kelp standing on a beach. There’s a hint of wind in the golden birds aloft and the moving grass of the headland, and the incoming steel-coloured waves are gentle. The text describes a giant (who has wordlessly kept watch as long as anyone remembers) suddenly speaking to a solitary, brave girl. The giant asks her to warn people that the sea is rising and that the machine at the heart of the city must be switched off.

The colouring of the interior pages is all sand, stone and shiny black, on semi-gloss double spreads, which give the illustrator full scope for the grim landscapes. The machine is shown as a silhouette with great wheels of industry and chimneys spewing black smoke. Dripping ink throughout the book emphasises the ongoing damage from this activity, and some of the pictures might have been scraped from ash. A particularly chilling double spread depicts the mayor and businessman denying the effects of turning off the machine and rejecting the brave girl’s plea. The illustrator has positioned the viewer inside the machine-as-monster’s mouth, looking out at them, over cogs as grinding teeth and a tongue that licks like flame. The girl’s hometown – a tiny church, wooden houses and a few trees – lies helpless between the relentless machine and the foam of the mighty sea.

The giant returns to rescue the family of the girl and other believers – she holds them like dolls as the water rises, while the machine floats on the surface, still smoking. The recreation of their old world in its toy-like simplicity reflects the naïve belief of the girl and greater society: that they have escaped the inevitable consequences of humans upon the earth. And so, the book ends as it begins – with a giant warning.

1. Hachette Teachers Resources by Robyn Sheahan-Bright for ‘The Giant and the Sea’ https://cdn.hachette.com.au/resources/9780734418876-teachers-resources.pdf
2. Trent Jamieson, author website, includes his comments on the inspiration for his book on the occasion of winning the Environmental Award for Children’s Literature for Picture Fiction, also included are comments by the illustrator, Ravina Cai for ‘The Giant and the Sea’ https://www.trentjamieson.com.au/post/giant-and-the-sea-wins-the-environment-award-for-children-s-literature
3. Rovina Cai, artist website, includes images from ‘The Giant and the Sea’ https://www.rovinacai.com/
4. YouTube 8 June 2020 with Trent Jamieson and Ravina Cai – ‘The Giant and the Sea’ – extended YouTube of one hour’s duration featuring interviews with the author and the illustrator about their book plus Q&A with Megan Daley who interviews both creators YouTube 8 June 2020 with Trent Jamieson and Ravina Cai – ‘The Giant and the Sea’ – extended YouTube of one hour’s duration featuring interviews with the author and the illustrator about their book plus Q&A with Megan Daley who interviews both creators
5. Australian Museum, Impacts of Climate Change https://australian.museum/learn/climate-change/climate-change-impacts/?gclid=CjwKCAjwtKmaBhBMEiwAyINuwHc_R8KeVmx-8pfFS0JMg4UGw7o-9-9YZXfLI6XRDFehqkL2umCeMxoCKo4QAvD_BwE
6. National Geographic, Sea Level Rise for Grades 5-8 https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/sea-level-rise
7. eMelbourne, History of Manufacturing in Australia by Tony Dingle https://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM00896b.htm
8. Encyclopedia Britannica profile of Greta Thunberg, Swedish activist https://www.britannica.com/biography/Greta-Thunberg
9. UNESCO World Heritage Convention, Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/369/