When Lenny’s (Lenore) mum brings her baby brother home, she feels something isn’t quite right. But Davey is a bonny, normal baby and as he grows, the bond with his big sister is unshakable.

Mum was right all those years ago. Davey has grown far beyond the normal realms of a toddler. Denied attendance at nursery school because of his size, he begins school at around 4 foot tall.

Everybody loves Davey. He is friendly, kind and well mannered. He is adored by their elderly Hungarian neighbour Mrs Gaspar, who looks after the children while their single mum works two jobs to feed and clothe her ever growing son.

At night Lenny and Davey whisper about an adventure together – escaping to the wilderness to build a log cabin, and fishing and hunting their food. They feed this dream with information from encyclopedias they receive from a competition their mother has won. The volumes come in sections of the alphabet and Lenny discovers a fascination for bugs and Davey matches it with a love of birds of prey. This family doesn’t have much, but the encyclopedias fire their imaginations and explain the world through its pages.

As Davey continues to grow, doctor’s visits, operations and treatment follow, until near the end of the encyclopedia volume’s alphabet, Lenny has to read them to him. This family starts out on Davey’s life journey alone, but as he becomes sicker, their community rallies round.

This is a sad, wonderful story about the strength of sibling bonds, family and community. Lenny’s curiosity about her extended family and the world reminded me of Oskar in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Author – Karen Foxlee

Age – 10+

Teacher’s & Reading Resources here (scroll down to bottom of page)

(Gigantism, Family, Siblings, 1970’s, Exclusion, Love)