Review Detail

The Giant and the Grizzly Bear is a traditional story from the Western Arctic, translated from Inuktituk with a couple of words left in the native language.

It is the story of a giant finding a human boy and raising him as his own. He protects him and keeps him safe, even fighting a giant grizzly bear. He realizes after the fight that he needs to return him to his own family and they set out to find them.
In addition to being a story about adoption, it is also a story on how the landscape was formed and reshaped. These types of stories are always insightful, offering a different perspective.

The book ends rather bluntly and left us hanging. We were left with many questions and my son is demanding a part two.

The illustrations were great! Each spread is large and colorful, with many featuring different textures. The illustrator captures the different actions and expressions wonderfully.