Gargantua and the Picrochole Challenge

Grandgouzier, king and giant, knows nothing of his early ancestors when he takes the throne of Utopia and so dispatches his sage Alcofrybas to an underground cavern where the ancient secrets are stored to establish the nobility of the family. His son, Prince Gargantua, grows from his food-addicted infancy into a fun-loving and adventuresome giant in his teens, a defiant prankster. Gargantua is suddenly recalled from adventures afar to defend his father’s kingdom from an attack by the evil Picrochole. Can Gargantua and his squad of friends and courtiers save the kingdom or will Picrochole succeed in stealing the throne? David Duke-Evans has reconstructed these episodes from the 16th century French chronicles of Francois Rabelais so as to add the story’s rumbustious characters to a new audience of older children in a funny and engaging way. The book features a series of original colour pieces by artist Fran Thornton which bring the bizarre cast of characters to life.