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Toby and the Ice Giants
Join Toby the Bison in this fact-filled adventure as he explores the Ice Age Tundra and meets some of the giants that roamed its icy surface. Ten-thousand years ago, the Earth was in the grips of what Paleontologists call the Last Glacial Period, but what you and I have come to know as the Ice Age. The inhabitants?of this frozen landscape lived in some of the coldest conditions the earth has ever experienced. But before these giants grew to their great size, they were young and, like Toby, very, very inquisitive. Toby and the Ice Giants is a wonderfully illustrated story that delivers digestible facts about the Earth's historic inhabitants. Share in Toby's lively curiosity, experience the danger of the polar climes and meet some larger-than-life characters on the way. Joe Lillington was born in London and studied illustration at Falmouth University. He was recently commissioned to illustrate the cover of Stew Magazine , illustrated a short story in AMBIT magazine, and has exhibited at Light Grey Art Lab shows and the Just Us collective show. Lillington explains, "The type of story I liked when I was younger is similar to the stories I like now. I especially liked Fantastic Mr. Fox , Asterix , and The Hobbit , which I still find inspiring and fun. I think these stories feed my interest in creating children's books now. I want to make an interesting story set in a fun and engaging world."
32 pages, Hardcover
First published August 11, 2015
31 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 1, 2016
A colleague who recently spent a year in Oxford, says books that include both fiction and non-fiction elements are increasingly popular in the UK. That is fine by me, as this book was pounced on by students in my class who warmed to the adventures of young bison Toby, as well as the factual sections on each spread. The illustrations are wonderful and this is a very appealing book, especially for boys.
July 25, 2015
Young bison wanders away from herd and encounters Ice Age giants now extinct.
August 17, 2017
Vor rund 20 000 Jahren beherrschte die Eiszeit unsere Erde. Riesige Tiere zogen übers Land: Eiszeitriesen von beeindruckender Größe und Resistenz gegen die Kälte. Auch Wondu, ein junger Steppenbison, war darunter. Er lebte in der Tundra, einer weiten und kalten Grasebene.
Doch Wondu langweilt sich in seiner Herde. Er lechzt nach Abenteuer und will die Welt außerhalb der Tundra erkunden. Wagemutig stürzt er sich ins Unterholz und entdeckt dabei eine Reihe beeindruckender Urzeitbewohner: wollige Nashörner, riesige Faultiere und furchterregende Säbelzahntiger. Voller Eindrücke kehrt er zu seiner Familie zurück und ist dabei neugieriger denn je, was die Welt außerhalb seiner Steppe alles zu bieten hat.
Joe Lillingtons erstes Bilderbuch „Wondu und die Eiszeitriesen“ gehört zu den Themenbüchern aus dem Hause Atlantis. Es ist eine Mischung aus Abenteuergeschichte und kindgerechtem Sachbuch, weshalb es nicht nur eine Geschichte erzählt, sondern die Kleinen auch mit Wissen zu einem gewissen Sachgebiet versorgt. So richtet Lillington seinen Fokus auf die Urzeitbewohner und reist mit den Kleinen rund 20 000 Jahre in die Eiszeit zurück. Er gibt uns Wondu, einen kleinen Steppenbison, an die Hand, an dessen Seite wir die weite und kalte Grasebene der Tundra verlassen, um uns auf eine spannende Entdeckungsreise zu begeben.
Wondus Geschichte lebt dabei zum einen von den großflächigen Illustrationen Lillingtons, die mitunter an die ersten Höhlenmalereien unserer Urahnen erinnern, da sie sich mit leichten dynamischen Strichen und überwiegend in erdigen Brauntönen präsentieren. Zum anderen lebt sie von schlichten Sprechblasen, durch deren Inhalt man die scheinbaren Dialoge zwischen Wondu und den jeweiligen Eiszeitriesen entnehmen kann. Am äußeren Seitenrand einer jeden Doppelseite sind tabellarisch angeordnete Fakten zu finden, die kurz und prägnant Auskunft über die Größe, das Gewicht, die bevorzugte Nahrung, den Lebensraum und die Lebenszeit des jeweiligen Urzeitbewohners geben. Darunter stoßen wir auf interessante Fakten, die uns verraten, dass z.B. ein Säbelzahntiger sein Maul viel weiter öffnen konnte als ein Löwe oder die Flügelspannweite eines Riesenkondors unsagbare fünf Meter betrug.
Durch die teilweise zweiseitige Abbildung der Tiere, gelingt es Lillington seine riesigen Urzeitbewohner auf beeindruckende Weise zum Leben zu erwecken ohne die Kleinen zu beängstigen. Zur Veranschaulichung der Größenverhältnisse bettet er im hinteren Teil des Buches noch eine Größentabelle ein, die den Kleinen sehr gut verdeutlicht, in welcher Relation die jeweiligen Eiszeittiere zu ihnen stehen würden, weil er sie zwei kleinen Kindern gegenüberstellt. So wird einem schnell deutlich, dass selbst die Steppenbisons noch zu den Kleinsten unter den Eiszeittieren zählten. Auch die eizeitliche Weltkarte im vorderen Teil des Buches ist Lillington sehr gut gelungen. Dank ihr können die Kleinen nicht nur Wondus Entdeckungsreise ganz leicht nachverfolgen, sondern bekommen auch eine Vorstellung davon, wo das jeweilige Urzeittier gelebt hat.
„Wondu und die Eiszeitriesen“ ist ein gelungenes Bilderbuch für Groß und Klein, das sich dank seiner raffinierten Kombination aus erzählender Geschichte und Nachschlagewerk auch noch für Grundschulkinder sehr gut eignet. An Lillingtons natürlichen und überaus beeindruckenden Illustrationen kann man sich kaum sattsehen, sodass sein Bilderbuchschatz auch über längere Zeit nicht an Reiz verliert.
Doch Wondu langweilt sich in seiner Herde. Er lechzt nach Abenteuer und will die Welt außerhalb der Tundra erkunden. Wagemutig stürzt er sich ins Unterholz und entdeckt dabei eine Reihe beeindruckender Urzeitbewohner: wollige Nashörner, riesige Faultiere und furchterregende Säbelzahntiger. Voller Eindrücke kehrt er zu seiner Familie zurück und ist dabei neugieriger denn je, was die Welt außerhalb seiner Steppe alles zu bieten hat.
Joe Lillingtons erstes Bilderbuch „Wondu und die Eiszeitriesen“ gehört zu den Themenbüchern aus dem Hause Atlantis. Es ist eine Mischung aus Abenteuergeschichte und kindgerechtem Sachbuch, weshalb es nicht nur eine Geschichte erzählt, sondern die Kleinen auch mit Wissen zu einem gewissen Sachgebiet versorgt. So richtet Lillington seinen Fokus auf die Urzeitbewohner und reist mit den Kleinen rund 20 000 Jahre in die Eiszeit zurück. Er gibt uns Wondu, einen kleinen Steppenbison, an die Hand, an dessen Seite wir die weite und kalte Grasebene der Tundra verlassen, um uns auf eine spannende Entdeckungsreise zu begeben.
Wondus Geschichte lebt dabei zum einen von den großflächigen Illustrationen Lillingtons, die mitunter an die ersten Höhlenmalereien unserer Urahnen erinnern, da sie sich mit leichten dynamischen Strichen und überwiegend in erdigen Brauntönen präsentieren. Zum anderen lebt sie von schlichten Sprechblasen, durch deren Inhalt man die scheinbaren Dialoge zwischen Wondu und den jeweiligen Eiszeitriesen entnehmen kann. Am äußeren Seitenrand einer jeden Doppelseite sind tabellarisch angeordnete Fakten zu finden, die kurz und prägnant Auskunft über die Größe, das Gewicht, die bevorzugte Nahrung, den Lebensraum und die Lebenszeit des jeweiligen Urzeitbewohners geben. Darunter stoßen wir auf interessante Fakten, die uns verraten, dass z.B. ein Säbelzahntiger sein Maul viel weiter öffnen konnte als ein Löwe oder die Flügelspannweite eines Riesenkondors unsagbare fünf Meter betrug.
Durch die teilweise zweiseitige Abbildung der Tiere, gelingt es Lillington seine riesigen Urzeitbewohner auf beeindruckende Weise zum Leben zu erwecken ohne die Kleinen zu beängstigen. Zur Veranschaulichung der Größenverhältnisse bettet er im hinteren Teil des Buches noch eine Größentabelle ein, die den Kleinen sehr gut verdeutlicht, in welcher Relation die jeweiligen Eiszeittiere zu ihnen stehen würden, weil er sie zwei kleinen Kindern gegenüberstellt. So wird einem schnell deutlich, dass selbst die Steppenbisons noch zu den Kleinsten unter den Eiszeittieren zählten. Auch die eizeitliche Weltkarte im vorderen Teil des Buches ist Lillington sehr gut gelungen. Dank ihr können die Kleinen nicht nur Wondus Entdeckungsreise ganz leicht nachverfolgen, sondern bekommen auch eine Vorstellung davon, wo das jeweilige Urzeittier gelebt hat.
„Wondu und die Eiszeitriesen“ ist ein gelungenes Bilderbuch für Groß und Klein, das sich dank seiner raffinierten Kombination aus erzählender Geschichte und Nachschlagewerk auch noch für Grundschulkinder sehr gut eignet. An Lillingtons natürlichen und überaus beeindruckenden Illustrationen kann man sich kaum sattsehen, sodass sein Bilderbuchschatz auch über längere Zeit nicht an Reiz verliert.
August 30, 2019
Join Toby the baby bison on his journey into the past!
Nearly 20,000 years ago, the Earth was in the 'last glacial period' when giant animals roamed, some of which still exist today, like Toby the bison.
On Toby's journey, we run into a bunch of Ice Age animals such as the Woolly Mammoth, a woolly rhino, the Megatherium sloth bear, and even homo sapiens (or humans).
Each animal that Toby encounters includes helpful information as well as a size comparison to help give us an idea of what we'd be facing if we were alive back then! It tells us what their diets consisted of, what their habitats were like, where they lived, and when (if) they died out.
The front end pages have a full color world map that helps show the regions or continents where they creatures traversed.
We especially loved the size comparison chart that helps us see how we measure up to these creatures from the past.
On a personal note, we visited a museum last year that had skeletons and displays of just about every animal listed in this book, including a giant woolly mammoth skeleton, so it was fun to make that connection and share photos that we took there. It made this all the more real for my kiddo!
This picture book review was originally shared (with pictures!) on Lazy Day Literature.
Nearly 20,000 years ago, the Earth was in the 'last glacial period' when giant animals roamed, some of which still exist today, like Toby the bison.
On Toby's journey, we run into a bunch of Ice Age animals such as the Woolly Mammoth, a woolly rhino, the Megatherium sloth bear, and even homo sapiens (or humans).
Each animal that Toby encounters includes helpful information as well as a size comparison to help give us an idea of what we'd be facing if we were alive back then! It tells us what their diets consisted of, what their habitats were like, where they lived, and when (if) they died out.
The front end pages have a full color world map that helps show the regions or continents where they creatures traversed.
We especially loved the size comparison chart that helps us see how we measure up to these creatures from the past.
On a personal note, we visited a museum last year that had skeletons and displays of just about every animal listed in this book, including a giant woolly mammoth skeleton, so it was fun to make that connection and share photos that we took there. It made this all the more real for my kiddo!
This picture book review was originally shared (with pictures!) on Lazy Day Literature.
September 26, 2017
The best of both worlds - a nonfiction book with a fictional story. It gives storytellers the opportunity to interest kids with a fiction story and hopefully the kids will take the book home to explore the facts.
September 24, 2021
I thought this was an excellent way to introduce some of the extinct animals from the ice age to children. We really enjoyed reading this book and plan to read it a few more times before we return it to the library.
June 20, 2019
The illustrations and story are fun. The informational text was a little too long and dense for Boyo to appreciate right now. We can try it again in a few years.
August 17, 2023
Very cute story about a baby bison who encounters other ice age mega fauna from around the world.
March 25, 2017
This is a good storybook that teaches about ice age animals. I like the illustrations and the educational part of the book and my son enjoys the story of Toby the bison on his adventure.
March 9, 2017
One of the eldest son's books (then two), Toby is a fusion text of sorts which mixes narrative and non-fiction is a gentle way. Starting off with a beautiful world map which places all the animals that Toby the bison meets, it is a story which takes place some 15,000 years ago just after the the last Ice Age.
On his adventure away from his parents, Toby encounters several prehistoric animals who he interacts with. Each 3/4 page bleed is quite beautifully sketched showing a scene from Toby's encounter. Beneath or to the side of each animal is a short factfile that is more inviting than many, helped by the spacing and simple wording. I like the fact that you had to turn the book 90 degrees to read those pages which had tall animals and turn it back for those longer landscaped scenes.
The book itself is nothing special but you would find it difficult to argue the Lillington is an excellent artist who could go on to do something bigger and more epic like Mezolith if he were given the chance. I would had to see his talented wasted in creating a similar, continuous prehistoric series. He likes telling stories.
On his adventure away from his parents, Toby encounters several prehistoric animals who he interacts with. Each 3/4 page bleed is quite beautifully sketched showing a scene from Toby's encounter. Beneath or to the side of each animal is a short factfile that is more inviting than many, helped by the spacing and simple wording. I like the fact that you had to turn the book 90 degrees to read those pages which had tall animals and turn it back for those longer landscaped scenes.
The book itself is nothing special but you would find it difficult to argue the Lillington is an excellent artist who could go on to do something bigger and more epic like Mezolith if he were given the chance. I would had to see his talented wasted in creating a similar, continuous prehistoric series. He likes telling stories.
August 11, 2015
Toby and the Ice Giants is a picture book designed to grow along with young readers. The basic story is simple: Toby the bison is a youngster out to explore his world. He meets all sorts of Ice Age creatures. The wooly rhinoceros tries to pick a fight. Smilodon, who we sometimes call a sabre-toothed tiger, wants to eat him for dinner. He even passes the campsite of a group of two-legged creatures who live and dress in bison and mammoth skins and who are accompanied by dogs!
The story of Toby’s adventures and his return home will delight the read-to-me crowd, especially any giant beast enthusiasts among them. Then, when a young reader is ready to do some reading on her own, she can explore the side panels that appear on about half of the book’s pages and that offer all sorts of information about these creatures: size, weight, diet, habitat. The book also tackles the disappearance of these great creatures, tying it to changes in climate and plant life and to the hunting patterns of those two-legged creatures Toby encountered.
If you want a book that welcomes rereading—and reading in different sorts of ways—you and your younger friends will enjoy Toby and the Ice Giants.
The story of Toby’s adventures and his return home will delight the read-to-me crowd, especially any giant beast enthusiasts among them. Then, when a young reader is ready to do some reading on her own, she can explore the side panels that appear on about half of the book’s pages and that offer all sorts of information about these creatures: size, weight, diet, habitat. The book also tackles the disappearance of these great creatures, tying it to changes in climate and plant life and to the hunting patterns of those two-legged creatures Toby encountered.
If you want a book that welcomes rereading—and reading in different sorts of ways—you and your younger friends will enjoy Toby and the Ice Giants.
August 3, 2015
Thousands of years ago, our planet was inhabited by very different creatures than those that live today. In this book, Toby, a young bison, ventures forth to explore the area further away than his back yard. Along the way he meets several enormous prehistoric creatures, including a wooly rhinoceros, a megatherium, a teratorn, and a smilodon. Along with Toby, readers can learn basic facts about this animals as well as compare their science to humans and imagine what their lives might have been like. I appreciate the author's acknowledging that Toby would not actually have encountered all these various species in the course of one day. This might be a good introduction to a study of the Ice Age. The book was originally published in the United Kingdom.
May 30, 2016
Toby and the Ice Giants is about a little bison who, in the last glacial period, decides he is big enough to leave his mother and go on an adventure. He meets other animals and eventually decides he will stay with his mother because the animals he met were big and scary. Lillington has done a fabulous job weaving fact and fiction. As the story unwinds and Toby meets a new animal, there is portion of the page delegated to the facts about the animal. A map is included showing where each animal lived, and a glossary can be found in the back along with several other animals of the period that Toby didn't meet in the story. This is a great book for kids who are fascinated with pre-history.
April 1, 2020
¿Os gusta la prehistoria? ¿Os gustaría saber qué animales habitaban la Tierra hace unos 20.000 años? Y lo mejor de todo, disfrutando con los más pequeños de la casa y aprendiendo juntos. Pues no lo dudéis porque Boris y los gigantes prehistóricos os encantará. Muy recomendable.
Reseña: http://www.practicamentemagia.es/2016...
Reseña: http://www.practicamentemagia.es/2016...
July 20, 2015
Nice mix of scientific description with fun plot. Would be a great read for kids evolving past dinosaur books.
February 12, 2016
Many animals I had never heard of with an interesting storyline and lots of facts.
November 28, 2016
The fictional storyline of this book was meh. I didn't care much for it. But the illustrations and educational information were great.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews