ALA Booklist

The familiar Wilde tale is well served by Gallagher's illustrations, in which the clothing and the faces of the children who come into the blooming garden are in strong contrast to the costumes and figures of the people who rule the wintry landscape after the selfish giant has exiled the children. The giant's size is also well handled: it's clear that every adult looks like a giant to a child. The story's ending, which implies that the child has returned to take the giant to Paradise, should be noted as a departure from what some readers expect in the giant genre. (Reviewed Mar. 1, 1995)

Horn Book

Wilde's Victorian literary fairy tale about the giant whose wintry heart is thawed by love has been illustrated with impressive paintings. The children who bring spring to the giant's garden are a motley bunch, culturally diverse, serious and playful, curious and heedless; the giant is pictured as merely a very tall, gawky man. A handsome and sympathetic version of the famous story.

Kirkus Reviews

The 1888 classic illustrated in a more robust and detailed manner than Zwerger's misty, ethereal version (Picture Book Studio, 1984). Here the illustrator, whose work first appeared in Mary Pope Osborne's Moonhorse (Knopf, 1991) has chosen to depict a fully imagined world, complete with 19th-century period detail: children in caps and pinafores playing with hoops and sticks and marionettes; the giant toting his lute, portmanteau, and picnic basket; the Hail personified as a blind man in pantaloons and a hat straight out of Tenniel tapping with his umbrella on the roof slates. The palette is soft brown, green, peach, and gold; even the snow-and-ice scenes have a faint golden glow. The face of the little Christ-figure is never shown, preserving the mystery of the text. For all its period aura, Gallagher's style is distinctly modern, marked by the use of extreme high and low vantage points and seemingly random cropping, so that even important figures and objects may be cut off by the frame. The effect is somewhat like looking into a room through a keyhole; because the aperture is not large enough to encompass the entire scene, the result is an intense focus on that part of it that can be seen. Dramatic and memorable. (Picture book. 8+)"

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Gallagher's (Moonhorse) eerily stylized paintings lend a haunting resonance to this moralistic tale of a hardened man who learns to open his heart. When the curmudgeonly Giant denies the local children access to his expansive garden, a great chill descends on them all. Winter lingers and spring refuses to scale the garden walls. But the children find a way into the beloved spot and the trees, grateful for the company and attention, begin to bloom. Seeing such beauty, the Giant is transformed and befriends his young neighbors, allowing them free rein. Not long afterward, a special boy appears to escort the old man to Paradise. Wilde's lessons are easily deciphered, though children may be confused by the overt religious imagery at tale's end. The towering but somehow gentlemanly Giant on the book's black-bordered jacket cuts an intriguing and imposing swath. Meanwhile, Gallagher's gallivanting and ghostly-white Snow, Frost and North Wind characters and her warm and golden images of happy children and gorgeous blossoms create plenty of drama. All ages. (Mar.)

School Library Journal

Gr 2-6 Although the illustrations for this version of Wilde's classic parable are not as visually affecting as Lisbeth Zwerger's delicate watercolors (Picture Book Studio, 1984), children will be drawn to the color and humor of Mansell's drawings. Mansell (like Zwerger) leaves Wilde's enchanting text intact. Mansell's portrayal of the crochety giant is non-frightening and full of humorous detail. Young children might find the last part of the story frightening, and the crucifixion wounds might require an explanation that would be uncomfortable to some adults. This is a beautifully written tale, however, and Mansell's illustrations are not at all fearsomeeven the full-page illustration of the dead giant is gentle, and the stigmata might be missed by an untrained eye. With these cautionary notes, this version as well as Zwerger's complement Wilde's powerful, moving tale, although Zwerger's is still a first choice. Barbara McGinn, Oak Hill Elementary School, Severna Park, Md.