Gina Kaminski Rescues the Giant

Gosh, what a find this book is! A first glance at the cover art shows a very determined little girl with a backpack who is clutching an emotions chart. A very interesting detail.... It transpires that Gina Kaminski is quite probably neurodivergent (on the ASD Spectrum?) which is very refreshing to find in a picture book.

Gina Kaminski Rescues the Giant follows Gina's school visit to an Art Gallery with her class and her 1:1 support adult. Gina is initially not impressed; it's too big, too bright and she's anxious about where they will eat lunch. She uses her emotion chart to share these feelings with the reader, using simple emojis. Her 1:1, Anya, spots the signs and suggests a trip to the Reading Room, where she reads Gina the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Gina is still unimpressed, citing three major flaws with the plot. She informs Anya she's heading off to Fairytale Land to fix it, along with her most special thing - her teddy bear, Lady Wiggles. And arriving in the story, fix it she does, and even manages to bag herself a couple of cakes at the same time.

Gina Kaminski's main issue is the fact that Jack and the villagers wanted to steal the Giant's special things, which obviously Gina would not stand for.  She warns the giant, confronts the villagers and ensures he's not separated from his most special hen and harp.  When she returns to the Reading Room, job done, Anya has found her a map showing her where she will be having lunch and then takes her to an exhibit of giant everyday items, which Gina approves of very much.

Gina Kaminski Rescues the Giant is a brilliant twist on the Jack and Beanstalk tale; to frame it in the context of a little girl with ASD, who knows exactly the fear of having special things taken (her teddy bear) and the impact this can have, is wonderful. Her quirks and needs are beautifully presented in a way many children will recognise from classmates or themselves; she is not different from the others, she just has her own way of looking at things.

The inclusion of the emotions chart, so Gina can tell the reader how she feels at key points in the book is genius - how many children who have their own chart are going to feel seen and included by this?  The illustrations are clear and simple, using a lot of black and grey line drawings for the scenery and only highlighting the important items on each page in rich colours.  Again, a lovely touch for neurodiverse readers who may find full-colour page layouts overwhelming.

I'd love to see Gina's other adventures. The front cover features a quote from the writing legend that is Jacqueline Wilson "I LOVE Gina Kaminski". Hear hear, Jacqueline, so do I.

Picture book / Reviewed by Wendy Kelly, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 5+

Fancis Martin wanted to create a book which inspired children to tell their own story and the Gina Kaminski series definitely does this incredibly successfully. I would recommend reading this to a child who is already familiar with the traditional tale of Jack and the Beanstalk to ensure that it had the greatest impact.

Gina Kaminski Rescues the Giant is a page-turning adventure story, with the hero and narrator, Gina Kaminski, demonstrating elements of their personality that could be interpreted as autistic. The need to know what is happening during a day away from the classroom is a real battle for many students and this is beautifully represented here.  I personally love the integrations within the story of the emotion chart symbols that many children will be able to identify with, as well as the straight-talking nature of Gina’s narrative.

Lots of us read traditional tales and spot the mistakes but we just move on and accept them. Children will love the challenge of re-writing their own traditional story after spotting the flaws, I am sure.  Gina Kaminski Rescues the Giant would slip beautifully into an English topic in many year groups. 

An absolutely brilliant book. I look forward to reading more in this series.

Picture book / Reviewed by Amanda Shipton, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 3+