Jack and the Beanstalk

by John Cech (Adapter), Robert MacKenzie (Illustrations)

Jack and his marvelous beanstalk made their first appearance in England in 1734—and for nearly three centuries the tale has continued to enchant children. After all, what could be more reassuring to a small child than the idea that even a little boy can outwit a scary giant?
John Cech retells this popular story with humor and warmth, adding plenty of entertaining detail and bringing in some less familiar elements, too. (For example, when Jack escapes for the last time, the giant’s wife comes along with him, and becomes his mother’s good friend.)  And Robert Mackenzie’s art captures all the magic of the huge beanstalk and the giant’s oversized world up in the clouds.   

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Childrens, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2008

Reviews

[Savannah Kerr · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the classic tale of Jack and the Beanstalk John Chech retells his version of the fairytale. Jack a young boy is sent to town to sell the family cow and comes back with a pot of beans. His mother is not very happy and throws the pot out the window. Overnight a huge beanstalk grows, and opens a new world for Jack. The author John Cech does put a few spins on this traditional fairytale, but overall the story stays the same. Jack finds a giants castle and steals a golden goose, coins and a golden harp, and then returns back home with them where his mom, the giants wife, and he can live a better life than the one they had before. This story could be used in the classroom along with other versions of Jack and the Beanstalk to do a compare and contrast lesson. Another embedded lesson would be the morals of not stealing and running away.

[Terri Zumbahlen · Rating 1 out of 5]

In my opinion, books read to children should have a positive influence or at least leave a positive impression. In this story it's difficult to find either. A boy disobeys his mother when instructed to sell a cow. From there he steals 3 times to better his situation yet comes out better in the end. Not a book I'd choose for children.

[Cassidy Flood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the oil paintings that were used here

[Karim Elmenshawy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fee-fi-fo-fum,
I smell the blood of an Englishman,
Be he alive, or be he dead
I'll grind his bones to make my bread.

[Tiuri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the pictures, but not the retelling

[Autumn Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack is a poor boy who lives in the forest with his mother. One day she tells him they are so poor that he must sell the cow to improve their lot. Jack came home with a handful of beans in an old pot. His angry mother throws the beans into the garden. Overnight it had rained and the beans grew into a huge beanstalk and Jack climbs up. At the top he finds a castle where a giant and his wife live. The giant likes to eat children so Jack hides under the table. Jack goes up the beanstalk three times. When the giant is sleeping, Jack steals a sack of gold, a goose that laid golden eggs, and the third time he stole the golden harp and the giants wife decided to climb down the beanstalk with Jack because she is tired of cooking and cleaning for her husband. The giant suddenly wakes up and chases Jack and his wife but he couldnt climb down the beanstalk because he was afraid of hieghts. So the giant shook all the beans off the beanstalk almost shaking Jack and his wife but they held on for dear life. When Jack and the giants wife reached the ground safely, Jack's nieghbors cut down the beanstalk and fed all the pieces to their cows. Jack's mother and the giant's wife became best of friends.
The quality of plot was very just like the many fairytale books. A interesting beginning, questioning middle, and heroic ending. I always loved all of the fairytale endings.
Age range would have to be primary. Easy text to understand. Honestly i think a child of any age would be interested in this book and maybe find to see what kind of adventure they could go on or discover.
Artistic elements are colorful and beautiful. All the pictures in the book were painted by hand. The pictures have lots of detail and makes you feel as if you were sitting right there with the characters. My favorite thing that the illustrator had drew was the giant. The gaint is so massive and beautifully drawn in the story. Really caught my eye.
I would recommend this book to any parents who want to read a great fairytale to their children. It was always a favorite as a child hearing my mom recite the words of the giant saying "Fee Fi Fo Fum..." I can't wait to read this book to my children one day!

[Julio Yac]

Jack and the Beanstalk is a traditional story of a boy who trades the family cow for magic beans. The beans are tossed into the garden and a giant beanstalk grows overnight. Jack decides to climb this beanstalk to discover what is at the top of the giant plant. The intricate work of the golden border on the front cover of the book caught my attention followed by the beautiful hues of the oil painting within the border. What Jack finds at the top of the beanstalk will surely surprise you.
This book is considered a traditional book due to the content. Jack and the Beanstalk is a story that has been told for many years and is written in many versions. The hand drawn oil paintings are full of hues that make the images come to life. The text of the book is embedded in the pictures. The font is clear and large enough for the reader to easily read and understand. The font also stays consistent until a specific character is introduced and the font becomes larger and detailed. There is not one page left blank with text, each page contains a picture that is associated with the storyline. Something I found interesting is at the end of the story the author adds the brief history of how Jack and the Beanstalk came to be and how it traveled to different areas of the world. This story is full of wonders and filled with beautiful oil paintings that make the experience of reading this book one of a kind.

[Breanna Borunda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack is always getting a to-do list from his mother, but somehow always finds a way to get the orders a little mixed up. One day his mother sends him to sell their cow to improve their pot, but instead he comes home with beans in an old pot. His mother becomes upset, but he leaves the beans outside and it begins to rain. The next morning a huge beanstalk has grown, and then the adventure begins. Jack climbs the beanstalk and meets a lady who has a giant for a husband who he must hide from every time he comes home. This does not stop him though, because he is getting great things out of climbing that beanstalk that you must read to find out.
This story was originally written in 1734, and over all these years it is still a traditional and timeless picture book. Although this story is rewritten, it still carries all of the traditional aspects but just in a new way for readers to enjoy in this generation. The illustrations are very well drawn and colored that make the entire story so much better. The text is also very detailed with wonderful descriptions that make the reader feel like they are a part of the book. This story is a classic that people of all ages can enjoy because it still has the same meaning for those who have read the original, but also something that first time readers can enjoy in that same way.

[Natalie Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

These watercolor illustrations make me smile, they're so vivid! For a contemporary take on an old tale, this one might be my favorite. I appreciate the repetitious Fee Fi Fo Fum rhyme of the giant's, and the three trips Jack takes up the beanstalk. In the end, the giant's wife comes down the beanstalk with Jack, they cut the stalk down and feed it to the cows, and the giant is still stuck up in the clouds (the only sore point for me - I wish the giant was killed). While Jack still has a few magic beans left in his pocket....

[McKenna Crimmins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very creative and the illustrations were very descriptive and went along with the story very well. The writing made certain parts seem very suspenseful and sometimes even funny because the little boy kept tricking the giant and taking his stuff to make his mother happy. The illustrations were more mellow colors which fit the story because it was all about taking risks. I enjoyed this book and because the audience is supposed to be young, I feel like they would enjoy this book too since the writing was easy to understand and had humor, suspense, and a happy ending.

[Ashley Fischer]

This story is a fun folktale and children seem to always love it. It talks about misunderstandings and how with this misunderstanding came good results but you could also talk about the idea of stealing and ask children if what Jack did was wrong. I thought the pictures were really neat. I don’t know what they were done with but he author used texture to define the pictures. The illustrator also used lines to draw the viewer’s eyes to certain things.

[Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

We've read several different versions of "Jack and the Beanstalk" and this one was one of my favorites because it wasn't too far off from the story I always heard as a child. It did have a different chorus (this one said, "Fee Fi Fo Fum, I smell a visitor, yum, yum, yum. Fish or fowl, cold or hot, we'll cook him up inside my pot.") and a slight twist at the end.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice illustrations--but I really didn't like the giant sniffing the air and bellowing, "Fee Fi Fo Fum, I smell a visitor, yum, yum, yum". How can you read Jack and the Beanstalk without "Fee Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an englishman!"

[Seashell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Q was a little afraid of this book and kept asking me to read faster.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some odd changes are made to the traditional story.

[Maggi Rohde · Rating 4 out of 5]

A milder, gentler retelling with no bone-eating or dead giant.