ABOUT THE BOOK
An orphaned giant named Berg is hoping to find just one person he can call friend. For many years, Berg has lived alone; the only reminders of his family are his mother’s satchel and his recurring dreams of a white bear who shares a magical sand from a fallen star.Sometimes, when Berg feels lonely, he will risk entering a village to trade a smooth river rock or a feather for food. He’s really searching for kindness and companionship; but with every attempt he makes, people chase him away, thinking he is Ünhold—a giant and a monster.
In his travels, Berg comes upon a city made of iron, where he meets a little girl, Anya. To his amazement and delight, Anya knows about the magical dream-sand, too, and says she wants to be his friend.
The mayor also befriends Berg and enlists him to guard the city from the dangerous Ünhold. But Anya suspects the mayor has other plans for the young giant. Fearing the city isn’t safe, she warns Berg to flee. Confused and torn between his two friends, the young giant has to figure out where he can place his trust.
This tender and unique story-within-a-story is a riveting tale of loss, longing, adventure, being yourself, and finding the true meaning of friendship.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DUSTIN HANSEN, an international award-winning video game developer, has been creating story and art for the children’s entertainment world for decades. He has also worked in theme parks, and as the Innovation Director for Hasbro, Inc. He is the author of the Microsaurs series, a graphic novel, My Video Game Ate My Homework, and a nonfiction bestseller, Game On! Video Game History from Pont and Pac-Man to Mario, Minecraft and More.
As a dyslexic writer, Dustin’s drive to combine visuals with the written word has been a thread throughout his career.
Life Is What It's Called - What inspired you to write this story?
Dustin Hansen - I began this book so many years ago, but the concept that I had back then still resonates with me today. I'm an artist, so quite often it's an image in my mind that kicks things off. For The Legend of the Dream Giants it was a moment were a brave young girl, sitting high up in a hay loft, speaks with a giant as if there were equals. I love the innocence and bravery that children bring when they meet new peers. That open, inviting love that sees through barriers that we often put in place culturally as we grow up. While this book on the surface is about Berg and his struggles, the relationship between Anya and the young giant is where the heart of the book resides.
This book has been with me for more than a decade, so over the years other things have influenced or inspired me to alter the flow of this story. It's fun as an author to watch a book mature and take shape, but it isn't always easy. I watched as my daughter was teased and nearly ruined at times by her peers as she attended school, for nothing more than her size and that she was different. It was heartbreaking. Unfair. Unjust. But there was still a drop of hope in the overwhelming river of bad feelings. A few special people that could see her for what she was. A beautiful and powerful force for good. So yeah, there's no doubt that she was an influence as well, even if it was after the book had already begun.
Life Is What It's Called - What do you think teens/preteens would like most about this book?
Dustin Hansen - I hope they'll enjoy the fantasy and magic of the star-blue-sand. I had a lot of fun dreaming up what soft-magic and hidden wonders the sand can offer. There's something great about holding something that you know will bring others joy. Writing and reading are such different approaches to a book that I'm excited to see what others think the sand might represent to them as readers. I have my personal take as the author, but I hope the sand takes on a new life as it enters the brilliant imagination of my readers.
Life Is What It's Called - How does this book stand out from the rest of the books on the shelves?
Dustin Hansen - I hope readers will find this book when searching for a new story that feels old. I've always been inspired by classic fairytales, fables and parables, and I know that that feeds my work today. There are universal truths between the covers of The Legend of the Dream Giants. Stories about finding important people in our lives that lift us, a modern day parable about the importance of empathy and getting to know others without prejudice, and of course, the how the power of love and family can come from unexpected sources.
Life Is What It's Called - What do you want readers to gain by this book?
Dustin Hansen - In short, more empathy. Okay, I know. A lot of people say that, but that's for good reason. I don't think there is a better medium out there for gaining empathy than a book. But in my story in particular, I hope they can take a moment to walk in Berg's giant shoes. (actually, he doesn't wear shoes, but ya know what I mean :) ).
One of the wonderful things fantasy books offer us is the ability to intake things beyond our personal experience. We'll never meet a giant in real life. Or at least I don't think we will. And hopefully we'll never witness the horrible things that Berg is put through at the hands of the humans in this story. He is put through things that a we couldn't withstand, but that is by design. It was hard for me as a writer to do what I did to Berg. He felt like family to me after a while. But I wanted to show in an exaggerated expression of what our prejudice can do if we allow it. It's ugly, what the people of Eisenstadt do to Berg. But it only takes one (or hopefully a few) brave people to let hope in, and I'm hoping that readers will see a bit of themselves in simplicity of Anya's friendship, and in the giant Unhold, who ends up showing his love in the most dramatic of ways. If I say anything more about that, this post will require a spoiler alert, and we don't want that, do we?
Life Is What It's Called - What are some of your next writing projects?
Dustin Hansen - Well, I have another book launching the same day as The Legend of the Dream Giants, believe it or not. The writing world is magical, the publishing world is unexplainable :). It's a non-fiction book for writers who love video games called The Greatest Stories Ever Played. I'm super proud of that book, and a lot of the concepts in that book helped shaped the writer I am today. Yeah, video games have made me a better writer. I know, right?
But I have another new project about an imaginary dog who arrives when people need him most that I'm not sure how to share with the world. And I'm deeply in love with another project about a young king who meets a enormous enormous, monkey who slices cheese from the moon, and a dark man made out of self doubt, anxiety and a flock of black birds. You know, the normal stuff.
Life Is What It's Called - How can this book be used in the classroom, homes, libraries, etc.?
Dustin Hansen - I've kind of covered this above, but the relationship between Berg and the people of Eisenstadt could be used to discuss how we assign preconceived ideas to people before we get to know them. Or perhaps, the power of half-truths and how they can be even more dangerous than lies.
DUSTIN HANSEN, an international award-winning video game developer, has been creating story and art for the children’s entertainment world for decades. He has also worked in theme parks, and as the Innovation Director for Hasbro, Inc. He is the author of the Microsaurs series, a graphic novel, My Video Game Ate My Homework, and a nonfiction bestseller, Game On! Video Game History from Pont and Pac-Man to Mario, Minecraft and More.
As a dyslexic writer, Dustin’s drive to combine visuals with the written word has been a thread throughout his career.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Dustin Hansen - I began this book so many years ago, but the concept that I had back then still resonates with me today. I'm an artist, so quite often it's an image in my mind that kicks things off. For The Legend of the Dream Giants it was a moment were a brave young girl, sitting high up in a hay loft, speaks with a giant as if there were equals. I love the innocence and bravery that children bring when they meet new peers. That open, inviting love that sees through barriers that we often put in place culturally as we grow up. While this book on the surface is about Berg and his struggles, the relationship between Anya and the young giant is where the heart of the book resides.
This book has been with me for more than a decade, so over the years other things have influenced or inspired me to alter the flow of this story. It's fun as an author to watch a book mature and take shape, but it isn't always easy. I watched as my daughter was teased and nearly ruined at times by her peers as she attended school, for nothing more than her size and that she was different. It was heartbreaking. Unfair. Unjust. But there was still a drop of hope in the overwhelming river of bad feelings. A few special people that could see her for what she was. A beautiful and powerful force for good. So yeah, there's no doubt that she was an influence as well, even if it was after the book had already begun.
Life Is What It's Called - What do you think teens/preteens would like most about this book?
Dustin Hansen - I hope they'll enjoy the fantasy and magic of the star-blue-sand. I had a lot of fun dreaming up what soft-magic and hidden wonders the sand can offer. There's something great about holding something that you know will bring others joy. Writing and reading are such different approaches to a book that I'm excited to see what others think the sand might represent to them as readers. I have my personal take as the author, but I hope the sand takes on a new life as it enters the brilliant imagination of my readers.
Life Is What It's Called - How does this book stand out from the rest of the books on the shelves?
Dustin Hansen - I hope readers will find this book when searching for a new story that feels old. I've always been inspired by classic fairytales, fables and parables, and I know that that feeds my work today. There are universal truths between the covers of The Legend of the Dream Giants. Stories about finding important people in our lives that lift us, a modern day parable about the importance of empathy and getting to know others without prejudice, and of course, the how the power of love and family can come from unexpected sources.
Life Is What It's Called - What do you want readers to gain by this book?
Dustin Hansen - In short, more empathy. Okay, I know. A lot of people say that, but that's for good reason. I don't think there is a better medium out there for gaining empathy than a book. But in my story in particular, I hope they can take a moment to walk in Berg's giant shoes. (actually, he doesn't wear shoes, but ya know what I mean :) ).
One of the wonderful things fantasy books offer us is the ability to intake things beyond our personal experience. We'll never meet a giant in real life. Or at least I don't think we will. And hopefully we'll never witness the horrible things that Berg is put through at the hands of the humans in this story. He is put through things that a we couldn't withstand, but that is by design. It was hard for me as a writer to do what I did to Berg. He felt like family to me after a while. But I wanted to show in an exaggerated expression of what our prejudice can do if we allow it. It's ugly, what the people of Eisenstadt do to Berg. But it only takes one (or hopefully a few) brave people to let hope in, and I'm hoping that readers will see a bit of themselves in simplicity of Anya's friendship, and in the giant Unhold, who ends up showing his love in the most dramatic of ways. If I say anything more about that, this post will require a spoiler alert, and we don't want that, do we?
Life Is What It's Called - What are some of your next writing projects?
Dustin Hansen - Well, I have another book launching the same day as The Legend of the Dream Giants, believe it or not. The writing world is magical, the publishing world is unexplainable :). It's a non-fiction book for writers who love video games called The Greatest Stories Ever Played. I'm super proud of that book, and a lot of the concepts in that book helped shaped the writer I am today. Yeah, video games have made me a better writer. I know, right?
But I have another new project about an imaginary dog who arrives when people need him most that I'm not sure how to share with the world. And I'm deeply in love with another project about a young king who meets a enormous enormous, monkey who slices cheese from the moon, and a dark man made out of self doubt, anxiety and a flock of black birds. You know, the normal stuff.
Life Is What It's Called - How can this book be used in the classroom, homes, libraries, etc.?
Dustin Hansen - I've kind of covered this above, but the relationship between Berg and the people of Eisenstadt could be used to discuss how we assign preconceived ideas to people before we get to know them. Or perhaps, the power of half-truths and how they can be even more dangerous than lies.
Life Is What It's Called - How does this book appeal to both boys and girls?
Dustin Hansen - One of the many wonderful things about fantasy is that any reader is welcome to sit around the campfire. We've seen this with so many popular fantasy stories over the years. Part of this, in my opinion, is that we can get to experience the lives of non-human characters. Elves, dwarves, and in my case, giants. And being that most authors are human, writers often add at least some human traits to the fantastic creatures we create. I don't think gender really plays into how readers fall in love with a book. Or at least, not as much with readers in the upper MG space. I like to think that The Legend of the Dream Giants is adventurous, full of heart, and provides that careful reader that loves to dig beneath the surface for a few polished gems exactly what they are looking for.
Dustin Hansen - One of the many wonderful things about fantasy is that any reader is welcome to sit around the campfire. We've seen this with so many popular fantasy stories over the years. Part of this, in my opinion, is that we can get to experience the lives of non-human characters. Elves, dwarves, and in my case, giants. And being that most authors are human, writers often add at least some human traits to the fantastic creatures we create. I don't think gender really plays into how readers fall in love with a book. Or at least, not as much with readers in the upper MG space. I like to think that The Legend of the Dream Giants is adventurous, full of heart, and provides that careful reader that loves to dig beneath the surface for a few polished gems exactly what they are looking for.
REVIEW
The Legend of Dream Giants offers a lot to readers...a couple of takeaway morals and lessons, a good message overall, likeable characters, easy to read storyline, a few surprises and twists. The story seems like an instant classic to me. It's a twist on giants that I found to be very imaginative and creative. This book is something that you will want to keep and have in your home. It reads really well. I could easily read it out loud to my children (3, 6, and 8). I would classify it as a fantasy/fairytale. It reads like a fairytale to me, in that, it has a fantasy theme and a moral. There wasn't anything too scary or confusing for kids. This book could also be used in the classroom to discuss lies and half-truths, how the imagery and the story connect, preconceived perceptions and more. The story was clean. Overall, I felt like this was a really good book and I would recommend parents to check it out for their middle grader readers. I would like to see the author to expand this into a series and covering different fantasy creatures with this type of storytelling and imagination...mermaids, dragons, unicorns, trolls, goblins, etc. It's just such a good book and it's hard to find books that are age appropriate, clean, not to scary and that grabs your attention quickly. To learn more about The Legend of Dream Giants, click here.
Please note that I received a free copy of this book to review, however, this is my honest opinion. This post is in cooperation with Shadow Mountain Publishing. This post contains affiliate links that help support this blog.
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