Working With The Hungry Giant by Joy Cowley
The Hungry Giant is a children's picture book first published in 1988. Joy Cowley wrote it, and it became one of her more recognized titles in New Zealand and internationally. The story follows a giant who can never get enough to eat, which gives the book its humor and rhythm. It has been used in schools and libraries for decades as part of early literacy programs. The book is a repetitive narrative, which is a deliberate choice. Each page builds on the same structure — the giant is hungry, something happens, he eats it, he gets bigger or louder, and the cycle continues. This pattern is what makes it useful for young readers learning to predict text. The illustrations by Pauline Banks carry a lot of the comedy. The giant's expressions do most of the work while the words stay sparse. I have used this book in reading groups with five and six year olds multiple times. The key thing to understand is that the book works best when you read it aloud with energy. The repetition is not a flaw. It is the entire mechanism. If you read it flat, it falls apart. A good reader will vary their volume and pace across the pages, getting louder and slower as the giant grows. That dynamic keeps children engaged far more than the text alone ever could.
One thing teachers often miss is that the book is short enough to reread immediately after the first pass. The second read, children will start filling in words before you say them. That is the moment the book actually does its job. You do not need fancy activities or worksheets. The repetition does the teaching.
How to Use This Book in Practice
There is no download link for the full text. The book is copyrighted. What you can do instead is source a physical copy through secondhand bookshops, library networks, or direct purchase from book retailers. In New Zealand, it has been reprinted several times and is widely available through used book channels. ISBN listings vary by edition, so check the publication date if you need a specific version for curriculum alignment. Here is how I approach it in a classroom setting. Read it once straight through without stopping. Then read it a second time and pause at the repetitive lines to let children chime in. After that, you can do a simple activity where kids draw what they think the giant will eat next before turning the page. I keep those predictions on sticky notes and compare them to what actually happens. It takes about twenty minutes total. Sometimes less. Sometimes more if the group gets into it. A problem I ran into with a particular group was that some children found the giant's appetite unsettling rather than funny. That is normal. Not every child responds to the same humor. For those kids, I shifted the focus to the rhythm and prediction aspect instead of the eating theme. It still works as a literacy tool even if the comedic angle does not land.
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What People Usually Get Wrong
The biggest mistake is treating this as a standalone teaching resource. It is not. It works best alongside other texts that use repetition — books like Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell or The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. When you pair them, children pick up on the pattern faster and can transfer that skill to independent reading sooner. Another thing: some educators try to stretch this book into a full lesson plan with craft projects and writing exercises. That dilutes the point. The book's value is in the oral reading and the pattern recognition. Adding twenty minutes of coloring or cut-and-paste work does not improve outcomes. It just takes time away from actually reading. If you are looking for something more interactive or digitally accessible, the book does not have an official animated version or app. There are reading videos on platforms like YouTube uploaded by teachers and libraries, but those are user-generated and not official. They can work as a supplement if you need a remote learning option, but they do not replace reading it yourself with a group.
Where to Find It
New Zealand libraries carry it. Book depositories and secondhand sites like Trade Me and Amazon have copies at varying conditions. The publisher has changed hands over the years due to industry consolidation, so different editions exist with slightly different cover art and occasional formatting changes. The text remains consistent across all editions. I usually recommend checking a library copy first before buying. The book is thin. It does not justify a full price purchase unless you are using it repeatedly with multiple groups. A single copy from a library will serve most purposes fine. The book falls under early childhood and lower primary reading material. It is not graded formally, but the reading level sits comfortably in the emergent reader range. Children who can sound out simple CVC words and recognize common sight words will get the most out of it. If a child struggles with the repetitive structure, it may indicate they need more support with prediction skills before returning to this title.
