If We Were Giants

by Clete Smith, Dave Matthews, Antonio Caparo (Illustrator)

Overview

By world-renowned musician, environmentalist, and humanitarian Dave Matthews, an exciting and poignant fantasy set in wondrous natural environments about a girl who must summon the courage to face her own mistakes before she can help save her peaceful community from a gigantic threat.

Kirra, a curious, agile, and outgoing girl, lives in an idyllic community hidden inside a dormant volcano. She and her father are the only two people allowed to venture beyond its walls. Kirra is in training to become a Storyteller like him, and together they travel from village to village spreading fearsome tales designed to keep outsiders away from their secret nest. One day, after hearing rumors of strangers called the "Takers," Kirra leaves the volcano by herself, hoping to discover her own story. But she unknowingly leads the Takers back to her doorstep, and they rob her of everything she has ever held dear. A devastated Kirra is found by a boy named Luwan and adopted into his family, which lives among others high in the trees of a dense forest. Now quiet and withdrawn, Kirra hides her dark past from everyone and never wants to leave the safety of her tree dwelling. Luwan, on the other hand, loves to explore. One day it leads to trouble: He is captured while spying on a group of strangers. The Takers have returned. To save the Tree Folk, Kirra must face her inner demons and summon all her storytelling to weave the most important tale of her life. This compelling novel about overcoming loss, embracing community, and living in harmony with nature is highlighted with a full-color insert of concept artwork, making it perfect for family sharing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368002035
Publisher:	Disney Press
Publication date:	03/03/2020
Sold by:	DISNEY PUBLISHING WORLDWIDE -EBKS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
Lexile:	840L (what's this?)
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Clete Barrett Smith (www.cletebarrettsmith.com) was a teacher for over ten years in Bellingham, WA . He has a master's degree in writing for young adults from Vermont College and has won several screenwriting awards. He used his experiences in the small towns and forested mountains of the Pacific Northwest when writing Aliens on Vacation, Alien on a Rampage, and Aliens in Disguise. Clete lives in Bellingham with his two daughters.
David John "Dave" Matthews is a South African-born American singer-songwriter. musician, and actor, best known as the leader of the Dave Matthews Band, founded in 1991. During 2000-2010, his band sold more tickets than any other act in North America. They are the only group to have six consecutive studio albums debut at no. 1 on the Billboard charts. Outside of his Grammy Award-winning music career, Dave has had multiple acting roles, including a part in the film Because of Winn-Dixie. He uses his celebrity to support humanitarian and environmentalist causes. When he's not touring, he divides his time between Seattle and Virginia. He is married and the father of three children.
Clete Barrett Smith has written four humorous middle grade adventures, including Aliens on Vacation, which was named an ABA "New Voices" Selection, was nominated for five state awards, and has been optioned for film by Parkes-MacDonald Image Nation. Clete's first YA novel, MR. 60%, was published by Crown in August 2017. Clete received his MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College and taught English at the high school level for over twenty years. He currently lives in Bellingham, Washington with his family.

Editorial Reviews

01/27/2020

The importance of community and collaboration underlies this didactic, fast-paced adventure, by musician Matthews and children’s author Smith (Mr. 60%), about a 14-year-old girl with repressed trauma. Part one finds 10-year-old Kirra living with her family in bustling Zedu, hidden within a dormant volcano. As Helper to the Storyteller, Kirra is allowed to go Outside, where her father protects Zedu by spreading tales of volcanic danger to other villages. A well-intentioned decision by Kirra, however, leads to the village’s violent destruction by ruthless invaders called Takers. Four years later, Kirra, the only survivor, quietly lives among the peacefully coexisting but solitary Tree Folk. When the Takers return and threaten her new home, Kirra must find the strength to face her past and rally the treetop dwellers to collective action, working with friends to design and deploy fearsome, cleverly engineered wooden giants. An ambiguous ending with loose ends perhaps hints at a sequel, but readers will appreciate the triumphant growth of Kirra and her adoptive community, who choose to embrace the potential and pain of connection. Ages 8–12. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"Both the underlying themes and Kirra’s sharply felt recovery from emotional devastation add sturdy props to this thought-provoking outing."—Booklist

"Readers will appreciate the triumphant growth of Kirra and her adoptive community, who choose to embrace the potential of pain and connection."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

02/21/2020

Gr 4–6—Kirra is a proud member of an idyllic secret community inside a dormant volcano. Only she and her father, the community's official storytellers, can leave—and even then, they must disguise themselves to keep their home safe. Everything changes when Kirra accidentally leads a group of enemies, known as Takers, to her community's hideout, where they destroy everything she's ever known. The girl flees, hiding in the trees with a new adoptive family—but a few years later, when the Takers return, she must find her bravery and voice to save her new home. The purpose of Kirra's first family's secrecy is never completely clear, while the Takers are cartoonish in their desire to destroy every community that they come across. The Takers, impossibly tall, thin outsiders with white hair and grey skin, are an uncomplicated if unrealistic enemy—while they seek to destroy everything around them, they do not seem interested in monetary or resource gain. VERDICT The book's eco-conscious message is strong, but the delivery is heavy-handed and often confusing; it is obvious that Kirra has gone through major trauma, but her feelings and recovery get lost in a meandering plot involving complicated large-scale puppetry and predictable pitfalls. Not recommended.—Kelsey Socha, Springfield City Library, MA

School Library Journal

2019-11-10
Matthews, of the Dave Matthews Band, and co-author Smith offer a fantasy that explores the damage done by violence inflicted by one people against another.

Ten-year-old Kirra lives in an idyllic community hidden for generations inside a dormant volcano. When she and her little brother make unwise choices that help bring the violent, spindly, gray-skinned Takers to her community—with devastating results—Kirra feels responsible and leaves the volcano. Four years later, Kirra's been adopted into a family of Tree Folk that live in the forest canopy. Though there are many Tree Folk, individual families care for their own and are politely distant from others. Kirra, suffering from (unnamed) PTSD, evades her traumatic memories by avoiding what she calls "Memory Traps," but when the Takers arrive in the forest, she must face her trauma and attempt to make a community of the Tree Folk if they're to survive. Although Kirra's struggles through trauma are presented with sympathy and realistically rendered, some characters' choices are so patently foolish they baldly read like the plot devices they are. Additionally, much preparation goes into one line of defense while other obvious factors are completely ignored, further pushing the story's credibility. Kirra is brown skinned, as is her first family; Tree Folk appear not to be racially homogenous; and the Takers are all gray skinned.

Uneven pacing and clunky writing undermine this examination of trauma and PTSD. (Fantasy. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews