Book Review: THE MYSTERIOUS GIANT OF BARLETTA: AN ITALIAN FOLKTALE

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
dePaola, Tomie. 1984. THE MYSTERIOUS GIANT OF BARLETTA: AN ITALIAN FOLKTALE. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN: 0152563474

2. PLOT SUMMARY
During the eleventh century in the Italian town of Barletta, there stood an enormous statue of a young man. No one in the town knew how it got there, not even the oldest resident in town, Zia Concetta, but they loved their “Mysterious Giant.” When the town was to come under attack by a thousand soldiers, Zia went to the giant to ask for help. Surprisingly, the giant stepped down from his pedestal, and together the giant and Zia came up with an idea to keep the soldiers from destroying their town. In order for the plan to work, Zia calls the townspeople to the square and asks for three things: a cut open onion, for the townspeople to stay completely out of sight, and for no one to ask any questions. The townspeople followed Zia’s directions and the giant went to face the army. When the army came upon the giant, he was sobbing. The army inquired as to why the giant was sobbing and he told them a story about how the boys at his school wouldn’t play with him because he was the smallest boy in school. He went on and on about how they would beat him up, and how someday he’d get bigger and stronger and eventually beat up them up. These words made the lieutenant and the army think twice about attacking Barletta, for fear that the town was full of giants. and they retreated. Everyone in the town was grateful for what the giant had done, the giant reclaimed his spot on the pedestal, and town life got back to normal.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
THE MYSTERIOUS GIANT OF BARLETTA, is a simply told folktale that is easy to follow from beginning to end. dePaola’s use of Italian phrases and words such as “Buona notte, Colosso”, “Che bella festa!” and minuscolo” help connect the tale with its Italian roots and bring the culture to life for the reader, which make the story seem more authentic. Furthermore, dePaola’s illustrations, which where were created by using the painterly techniques of watercolor and tempera paints, mirrored the text provided on each page and add to the depth of understand of the story.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
THE BULLETIN review: "The illustrations are among dePaola's best: rigorous line and expressive movement against an atmospheric background of rich golds, blues, and reds.”

5. CONNECTIONS
*As a class research the town of Barletta, Italy and truth behind the “Mysterious Giant of Barletta.”

*Other folktales featuring giants:
Weiss, Jim. GIANT: A COLOSAL COLLECTION OF TALES AND TUNES. ISBN: 9781882513178
Gleeson, Brian. FINN MCCOUL. ISBN: 9781596792234
Cushman, Doug. GIANTS. ISBN: 9780448474861