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The Giant King
People say that Rabbie, the carpenter's son, is a dreamer, but the boy says he works from his heart, carving not what is, but what could be. When Rabbie goes to sell his carvings in a far-off town, he finds the townspeople besieged by a fierce and destructive giant. The townspeople despair, but Rabbie suggests that if the giant was treated like a king, he might behave like one. Readers will be charmed by the message of this heartwarming Scottish that which is loved will reveal its loveliness.
- GenresPicture Books
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
About the author
Kathleen T. Pelley
13 books128 followersI was born in Glasgow, Scotland—a country famous for its heather dappled mountains, lochs, tartans, thistles, shaggy Highland cattle, sheep, bagpipes, castles, haggis, and of course, a veritable treasure chest of stories.
My gentle Irish father also loved to feed me his own tales of fairies, leprechauns, and banshees. Every summer, my two big brothers and I would visit my grandparents’ farm in Ireland, where we whiled away the days with hay-rides, turf-rides, milking cows, shearing sheep, feeding pet lambs, and organizing frog races.
My passion for stories stemmed from listening to them: crouched in front of the radio for the BBC children’s hour, or huddled before a turf fire in Ireland as the aunts and uncles talked in low, hushed voices, or walking hand in hand with my dad down a leafy lane, as he whispered secrets to me about mermaids and banshees. Before I could write words, or read them, I knew that they were magic, because of the music they made.
After I learned to read, I devoured all the fairy tales I could find. At school my favorite subjects were English and History and Drama. At Edinburgh University, I studied History. I was never very good at remembering all the dates, because that involved numbers, but I had no trouble remembering the people and the events, because that involved stories. As an elementary teacher, I loved teaching language and history and drama. In my classroom I always made plenty of time for reading stories aloud to my students, no matter what age they were.
After moving to the States in 1990 with my husband, an American, and my two daughters, one born in Scotland, the other in England, I was extremely homesick. Writing helped to soothe the hurt in my heart, and soon I was sending off my stories to publishers.
After many, many, years, and many, many rejections, I finally began to experience a few small successes, and in October 2003, my first children’s picture book was published by Child and Family Press.
When I’m not writing my own stories, I enjoy telling stories to anyone who will listen. For over twelve years I was a narrator of books on tape for the Colorado Talking Book Library, and for the past 20 years I have been fortunate to have a wonderful audience of children at two inner city elementary schools, where I visit once a month and read folktales and fairytales from around the world to grades K-6. Visit my website to sign up for a membership and access to these stories online.
My gentle Irish father also loved to feed me his own tales of fairies, leprechauns, and banshees. Every summer, my two big brothers and I would visit my grandparents’ farm in Ireland, where we whiled away the days with hay-rides, turf-rides, milking cows, shearing sheep, feeding pet lambs, and organizing frog races.
My passion for stories stemmed from listening to them: crouched in front of the radio for the BBC children’s hour, or huddled before a turf fire in Ireland as the aunts and uncles talked in low, hushed voices, or walking hand in hand with my dad down a leafy lane, as he whispered secrets to me about mermaids and banshees. Before I could write words, or read them, I knew that they were magic, because of the music they made.
After I learned to read, I devoured all the fairy tales I could find. At school my favorite subjects were English and History and Drama. At Edinburgh University, I studied History. I was never very good at remembering all the dates, because that involved numbers, but I had no trouble remembering the people and the events, because that involved stories. As an elementary teacher, I loved teaching language and history and drama. In my classroom I always made plenty of time for reading stories aloud to my students, no matter what age they were.
After moving to the States in 1990 with my husband, an American, and my two daughters, one born in Scotland, the other in England, I was extremely homesick. Writing helped to soothe the hurt in my heart, and soon I was sending off my stories to publishers.
After many, many, years, and many, many rejections, I finally began to experience a few small successes, and in October 2003, my first children’s picture book was published by Child and Family Press.
When I’m not writing my own stories, I enjoy telling stories to anyone who will listen. For over twelve years I was a narrator of books on tape for the Colorado Talking Book Library, and for the past 20 years I have been fortunate to have a wonderful audience of children at two inner city elementary schools, where I visit once a month and read folktales and fairytales from around the world to grades K-6. Visit my website to sign up for a membership and access to these stories online.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 18, 2012
I recently had the pleasure of attending a reading by the author. She is a fascinating person and has such wonderful ideas to share. The message of this particular book is one that touched my heart, and i know of several adults - myself included - that could benefit from following its lesson.
August 21, 2021
This is one of my favorite children's books, and I have MANY. It is so lyrical it feels like a timeless fairy tale and reads like a song. My copy has a CD recording of the author herself reading it, and it is a joy to listen to. The story is fresh, unpredictable, and so satisfying in the end, and teaches an important lesson without being heavy-handed. The illustrations are vibrant and engaging and really bring the story to life.
September 4, 2025
The Giant King, a picture book written by Kathleen T. Pelley and illustrated by Maurie J. Manning, is a heartfelt Scottish fable that blends rich storytelling with a timeless message about kindness, transformation, and the power of compassion. Vibrant illustrations bring the story to life.
March 21, 2008
A great story. (in the words of my six year old son.) He said, "Mom, That's a really great story. It was heart warming and it has a really good moral about treating people kindly."
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews