Describes the Cardiff Giant hoax, in which people of upstate New York were fooled into believing that the petrified form of a giant human being had been uncovered from the ground in 1869.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Gr 1-3-In 1869, audiences flocked to see what was purported to be a petrified human giant, unearthed from a farm in Cardiff, NY. The "giant" was, in fact, a statue carved from gypsum, artificially weathered, and buried as part of a "get rich quick" scheme. So successful was the hoax that even circus impresario P. T. Barnum got into the act, making his own copy of the "giant" and claiming that it was the "real" Cardiff Giant. Finally, it was determined that both "giants" were fakes. The "stone giant" gradually faded into obscurity, but the original statue can still be found in a museum in Cooperstown, NY. This saga is dutifully related in short, mildly suspenseful segments for beginning chapter-book readers, with some difficult vocabulary (e.g., gypsum, quarry, fossil). Youngsters may find the shifting cast of characters and their travails confusing. The cover art and interior color illustrations are serviceable, but are far less effective at piquing interest than the four black-and-white historical photographs. This small slice of American history is tantalizing, but most noteworthy for the revelation that P. T. Barnum did not, as is widely believed, originate the phrase "there's a sucker born every minute." That distinction belongs to his rival, David Hannum.
Mary Ann Carcich, Mattituck-Laurel Public Library, Mattituck, NY
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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More About the Author
Natalie Standiford was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, but now lives in New York City. She plays bass in the rock bands Tiger Beat (featuring fellow YA writers Libba Bray, Dan Ehrenhaft, and Barney Miller) and Ruffian. Find out more at her web site: www.nataliestandiford.com.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
another bases-clearing triple for standiford,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Stone Giant (Road to Reading) (Paperback)
one of the most unsung children's writers working today (and the ghostwriter behind many of your favorites), standiford scores again with the stone giant. the book makes an american legend accesible to young readers without diminishing its mystery. as with her classic balto, standiford takes the raw stuff of real life and turns it into liquid gold. what we're left with is nothing short of a new subgenre in american literature: the phantasmagoric children's period piece.
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