author
John-the-Giant-Killer
A mysterious old pen name attached to a lively collection of children's riddles, this author is remembered more for the playful book than for a clearly documented life. The work has the feel of an entertainer inviting young readers to puzzle, guess, and laugh along.
1 Audiobook
Food for the Mind: Or, A New Riddle-book
by John-the-Giant-Killer
About the author
Very little reliable biographical information appears to survive about the writer published as John-the-Giant-Killer. The name is best known from Food for the Mind: Or, A New Riddle-book, an early riddle collection for children that has been preserved in modern digital editions.
Because confirmed details about the person behind the name are scarce, it is safest to treat John-the-Giant-Killer as a historical byline rather than a well-documented authorial figure. What does come through clearly is the book's cheerful purpose: to amuse young readers while sharpening their wit through short, playful riddles.
That air of mystery is part of the appeal. Even without a full biography, the surviving work offers a small window into an older tradition of children's entertainment, when wordplay, guessing games, and moral amusement often went hand in hand.