Books like The Giant-Slayer by Iain Lawrence

The enormous threat of polio’s grip on a group of children is softened by Laurie Valentine’s vivid imagination. In 1955, after her friend Dickie is confined to an iron lung, Laurie visits him and meets two other boys, Carolyn and Chip, who are also helplessly breathing through mechanical machines. Laurie’s first instinct is to retreat, but Dickie pleads for her to tell a story. She does, and the tale of Collosso the giant and Jimmy the small boy destined to defeat him begins to unfold. As her story grows taller, the other children become embedded in the narrative, imagining themselves as key figures. When Laurie can no longer continue, Dickie, Carolyn, and Chip share the storytelling mantle, each bringing new depth to the plot. Together, they navigate the life-changing drama of the polio ward, transforming sickness and isolation into a collective adventure that heals and unites them.

First publish date: 2009