The Great Antonio

By Elise Gravel. Published by Toon Books. 

Hardcover, 64 pages, Colour, 2016. 

What made the Great Antonio so great? He weighed as much as a horse; he once wrestled a bear; he could devour twenty-five roast chickens at one sitting. In this whimsical book, beloved author and illustrator Elise Gravel tells the story of Antonio Barichievich, the larger-than-life strongman who had muscles as big as his heart.

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A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

★★★ "A tribute as heartfelt as it is joyous."
--Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW

"Gravel gives us a funny, very kid-friendly story about a gentle giant, someone who twirled children around on his braids, turning himself into a human merry-go-round for their amusement."
--School Library Journal Good Comics for Kids

"What’s to be made of lives that don’t go the way they were supposed to? Gravel shows that they’re worth paying attention to."
--Publishers Weekly

"Kids will be taken by this larger-than-life figure, who is still beloved in Montreal, the city the Great Antonio called home."
--Booklist

"In this innovative portrait—not quite a biography yet not quite a legend—Gravel affectionately places Antonio in the Paul Bunyan tradition of mighty men."
--Horn Book Magazine

"Gravel’s cartoonish art is graphically sophisticated."
--Montreal Gazette
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"A modern tale for a new audience."
--Mom Read It