Kate's Giants

A girl learns how to cope with her over-active imagination in this reassuring picture book. In Kate's room there's a small door that leads to the attic. She doesn't like it. "What if scary things come through?" she says. And sure enough, that night, she thinks they do. Shadows on the wall turn into scary slithery things. Then she imagines that wild animals are coming in - fierce lions and bears. Finally, she believes she sees two enormous giants. This time, though, she remembers the advice both her mother and father gave her: "If you can think them in, you can think them out." She takes a deep breath and cries, "Stop!" and the giants go away. Now Kate has another thought: what if friendly things were to come through that door? And sure enough, in comes a smiling giant and a lion with a basket of flowers. If she can think nasty things out, then she can think nice things in! Valiska Gregory is currently Writer-in-Residence at Indiana's Butler University, USA. Virginia Austin, who also publishes under the name of Virginia Miller, has illustrated "Squeak-A-Lot", which was runner-up for the Mother Goose Award in 1991. She has since illustrated "Sailor Bear" by Martin Waddell, three stories about the bears Bartholomew and George, "On Your Potty", "Get into Bed" and "Eat Your Dinner".