The Giant-Slayer

In 1955, Laurie Valentine is a lonely 11-year-old with an active imagination. Her distant father employs an overprotective nanny while he works tirelessly for the March of Dimes, confident a vaccine will soon eradicate polio. When Laurie's only friend, Dickie, gets polio, she sneaks off to visit him and begins a magical fantasy that enthralls all the children "in polio." Suzanne Toren moves easily from reality to fantasy, bringing the large cast of characters to life. Toren excels with all the characters--from master storyteller Laurie to eager Dickie and disdainful Carolyn, with their breathless iron lung voices. Fantasy characters--Jimmy the giant-slayer and his magical cohorts--come alive, too. Toren weaves a tale that brings hope to the young polio victims. N.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Starred review from November 16, 2009
This memorable novel, a skillful combination of real life and fantasy, is by turns uplifting and saddening. Set in 1955 against the backdrop of the polio epidemic in the period just before Jonas Salk's vaccine, the story follows three “polios”—Dickie, Carolyn, and Chip—as their once-lithe bodies deteriorate in iron lungs in a polio ward. A bright spot comes when 11-year-old Laurie Valentine, a gifted storyteller and Dickie's best friend, regales them with tales of a boy's quest to slay a marauding giant with the help of a majestic unicorn hunter, an oxen driver, and Jessamine, the Swamp Witch. As Laurie concocts each installment, Dickie, Carolyn, Chip, and other kids from the ward begin to recognize themselves in the parable's heroic characters—their first glimmer of hope (and distraction from their illness) in years. Grave illnesses such as polio are a difficult topic, and Lawrence's (the Curse of the Jolly Stone trilogy) delicate intermingling of fantasy and reality brings poignancy to the material. Distinctive, emotionally honest characters and consistently engrossing prose make this book a standout. Ages 8–12.