ABANDONED. Picture book about a giant defeated by a toy inventor who makes tiny blue figurines that parachute down through the city, read in early 2000s

[Eleanor]

It's a large picture book, probably from the early 2000s, about a very ugly and scary giant causing trouble in a town. I think the giant wears some kind of strangely tight brown hood. The illustrations are full-color full-page, and they're pretty whimsical/grotesque-- I kind of think the illustrator and/or author is someone famous but the lack of internet presence makes me doubt that. There is a kind of oddball toy inventor with white hair who gets rid of the giant by convincing him he's coming down with a mysterious illness with 3 very distinct symptoms. One of the symptoms involves the town crier and/or clocks ringing out ringing repeatedly at one particular time, and the final symptom is seeing little blue men float down from the sky. The toy maker finds ways to create these "symptoms," causing the giant to think he's dying from the disease and leave the town. I'm pretty sure either the name of either the inventor or the giant starts with the letter Q but have no clue about the title.

This has been driving me nuts for over a year... my sister and I searched our bookshelf at home and have Googled many times but still can't find it. Would love to finally solve the mystery!

[Rainbowheart]

The Great Quillow

[Kris]

No response, moving to Abandoned folder.

Eleanor (OP) was last active on the site in November 2020.