Kid Review – Guapo’s Giant Heart – picture book

Zappala, Janet, and Wendy Perkins. Guapo’s Giant Heart: The True Story of the Calf Who Kept Growing. Illustrated by Lara Calleja. Herndon, VA: Mascot Kids, 2022.

Guide to categories: Kid Review – review of books for elementary-aged and younger children

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Summary

Guapo’s Giant Heart is based on the true, heartwarming story of a baby calf with no place to live until a kind human adopts him and gives him a loving home. With a safe place to rest his head and plenty of food and love, Guapo keeps growing . . . and growing and growing! Although Guapo is a sweet, friendly cow, not everyone is kind to him at first. While the animal friends who’ve known him since he was a baby calf love him, those who meet him later in life aren’t so sure―they find Guapo’s larger-than-life presence intimidating. Towering over everyone he meets, can this gentle giant teach the other animals that being different is a good thing?

Purchase Guapo’s Giant Heart on Amazon – https://link.amazon/B0ddFq0ac

My Kid Review

Many kids love farm stories. Guapo’s Giant Heart is a great story for those kids. Guapo, a calf, outgrows his home and is taken to an animal rescue. Because he is so big, the other animals don’t seem to want to be friends with him, even though he tries. When Lynn, his previous owner, brings Mabel, a friend from his old home, he is happy again, and the other animals learn to trust him. 

Zappal and Perkins based this story on an actual situation. Pictures of Guapo and his friends are included in the end matter. 

Calleja’s illustrations are realistic and complement the text well. 

Guapo’s Giant Heart would be a cute addition to the picture-book section of a K-12 Christian school library. 

I received a complimentary copy of Guapo’s Giant Heart. This is my honest review.

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