The Selfish Giant
  • Published: 1 April 2015
  • ISBN: 9780099475866
  • Imprint: Red Fox Picture Books
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 32
  • RRP: $19.99

The Selfish Giant

Formats & editions
EBook
5 Sep 2013
EBook
5 Sep 2013
Paperback
1 Apr 2015
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The classic Oscar Wilde story is now beautifully illustrated and abridged by Alexis Deacon.

The Selfish Giant has a beautiful garden, but he won't let any of the children play in it. Winter comes and never leaves, until the power of love brings Spring and joy into the Giant's garden and his heart...
  • Published: 1 April 2015
  • ISBN: 9780099475866
  • Imprint: Red Fox Picture Books
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 32
  • RRP: $19.99
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About the authors

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin on 16 October 1854. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin and Magdalen College, Oxford. He then lived in London and married Constance Lloyd in 1884. Wilde was a leader of the Aesthetic Movement. He became famous because of the immense success of his plays such as Lady Windemere's Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest. His only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was first published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1890 but was revised in 1891 after moralistic negative reviews.

After a public scandal involving Wilde's relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas, he was sentenced to two years' hard labour in Reading Gaol for 'gross indecency'. His poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol was published anonymously in 1898. Wilde never lived in England again and died at the age of forty-six in Paris on 30 November 1900. He is buried in Père Lachaise cemetery where admirers often leave the lipstick marks of kisses on his tomb.

portrait photo of Oscar Wilde

Alexis Deacon

Alexis Deacon graduated from the University of Brighton, where he studied Illustration, gaining a first class honours degree. Alexis Deacon was one of Booktrust's ten Best New Illustrators in 2008, and Beegu was a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year and shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. Alexis lives in London.

Michael Foreman

Michael Foreman is one of the most talented and popular creators of children's books today. He has won the Kate Greenaway Medal two times and has been the UK nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award twice. His highly acclaimed books are published all over the world. He is married and has three sons. He divides his time between St Ives in Cornwall and London.

portrait photo of Michael Foreman

Praise for The Selfish Giant

Deacon breathes new life into Wilde’s timeless fairytale in a stunning new abridged version of the classic

The Bookseller

Alexis Deacon has interpreted, and enriched, this much-loved Oscar Wilde fairytale with stunning new illustrations. The transformation of the giant from selfish to caring is beautifully realised

Carousel

Illustrator Alexis Deacon has been rightly praised for his beautiful drawings, and he has put his talents to good use by breathing life into Oscar Wilde’s timeless fairytale The Selfish Giant.

Burnley Express

Very moving

Blackbird Pie

The timeless morality tale ... is simply but effectively retold in this superbly illustrated edition. The contrast between the apocalyptic desolation of the giant’s nightmarish isolation and the rich vitality of the restored, child-filled garden is dramatic and filled with telling detail, and the gradual realisation of the havoc he has wreaked makes the giant’s conversion quite moving. Easily understood by even the youngest of readers.

Daily Mail

Deacon has abridged the story here for early years children and his bold, atmospheric illustrations paint a memorable portrait of the dark and light shades of this timeless story which emphasises the power of love and the importance of sharing and forgiveness. Beautifully designed and produced, this marvellous adaptation is an ideal gift for all young readers.

Driffield Today