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Far Out Fairy Tales
Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel
Jak and her robotic servant, Cow, are in a pickle; Mom wants Jak to sell Cow for scrap, but Cow and Jak have become best friends. So instead of selling the rusty old robot for spare change, Jak strikes a bargain with the scrap collector: if Jak and Cow can visit the Cloud Kingdom via the Space Elevator and get hold of some magic nano-beans, Jak can keep Cow safe and sound. But what they find in space is anything but safe--and its sounds are far from soothing...
40 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2016
9 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
March 1, 2018
Now, this is fuel for my Far Out Fairy Tales obsession. Jak, a girl in this version with a very funky hairdo, has been told by her internet obsessed mother (well, her avatar anyway) that she has to sell her best friend Cow, a robot, for parts to the scrap man. The scrap man makes a deal with Jak to save Cow and possibly even the planet, but it means a trip to the space station at the top of the elevator to Cloud Kingdom to find some magic nano-beans.
Jak and Cow actually have personalities!! Naturally Jak’s mother’s avatar looks nothing like her and she calls at the most inconvenient times, which was part of the humour of the story for me. There’s a monstrosity of a space octopus type creature that stands in for the giant in the original fairy tale.
The most fun of all was the use of the word scrap, which will never be the same after you read this graphic novel. My favourite was “Holy Scrap!”, although “What the scrap?!” also deserves a mention.
The illustrations were just as fun as the story, with Jak’s personality coming alive with her expressions. The different colours used for the locations helped set the tone for each part of the story.
This story had a bit of everything I look for in a graphic novel - characters with personalities, adventure, humour, danger and some good ol’ quirky bits. There weren’t any boring sections in the story and I followed along without having to reread sections to work out what I missed. I’d happily reread this one!
Jak and Cow actually have personalities!! Naturally Jak’s mother’s avatar looks nothing like her and she calls at the most inconvenient times, which was part of the humour of the story for me. There’s a monstrosity of a space octopus type creature that stands in for the giant in the original fairy tale.
The most fun of all was the use of the word scrap, which will never be the same after you read this graphic novel. My favourite was “Holy Scrap!”, although “What the scrap?!” also deserves a mention.
The illustrations were just as fun as the story, with Jak’s personality coming alive with her expressions. The different colours used for the locations helped set the tone for each part of the story.
This story had a bit of everything I look for in a graphic novel - characters with personalities, adventure, humour, danger and some good ol’ quirky bits. There weren’t any boring sections in the story and I followed along without having to reread sections to work out what I missed. I’d happily reread this one!
June 6, 2024
In Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel (a 2016 science fiction, post apocalyptic retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk penned by Carl Bowen and with accompanying artwork by Omar Lozano), Earth has been for the most part abandoned (for less polluted, less destroyed colonies in the clouds and in outer space), with the few remaining humans (as well as often decrepit and rusting robot workers/servants) eking out a dismal and barely sustainable existence on an increasingly desolate planet.
And to save her robot friend Cow (physically falling apart and thus at risk of being recycled), main protagonist Jak (who is a young girl with a blueish mohawk haircut in Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel and not the young boy of Jack and the Beanstalk) makes a deal with the Scrap-Man, that in exchange for him repairing Cow, she (Jak) will go to the Cloud Kingdom at the top of the space elevator ladder and bring back some necessary nano-bots (in order to provide a better life to those left behind on Earth).
Now I am definitely textually impressed with Carl Bowen's general set-up for Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel and think that many of his changes to the contents of Jack and the Beanstalk really work well (like making Jak a girl, the cow a robot, the giant a large octopus like space monster, and that indeed, the entire science fiction themed world of Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel is engaging and not just verbally but also visually fun), not to mention that even though I do find Omar Lozano's illustrations for Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel sometimes a bit too starkly pink hued for my personal visual tastes, well, Lozano's artwork certainly does bring Bowen's textual world gloriously and aesthetically to life, both mirroring and also often very nicely and interestingly expanding on what Carl Bowen is verbally providing in and with Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel (so that for example we see an idealised avatar of Jak's mother on the phone but that in reality, the mother is sedentary, chubby, vegetating in front of her computer pretty much 24/7 and that the junkyard's Scrap-Man kind of looks like a fun and smile-inducing combination of Albus Dumbeldore and Uncle Sam).
However, despite the promising beginning for Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel (and that especially Jak and Cow are nicely active and personable), sorry, but as Bowen's text progresses, his story becomes increasingly confusing, unorganised (basically all over the place) and with the ending for Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel being especially unsatisfying for me. For sadly, Carl Bowen just has Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel stop when Jak and Cow have defeated the space monster and obtained the nano-bots and thus does not show Jak returning to Earth (so that we never learn how Jak's deal with the Scrap-Man plays out and how her life and Cow's life progress and move along). Thus yes indeed, after being so invested in Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel because of the wonderful set-up and the opening sequences (and also really liking Jak and her friend Cow as characters), the ending that is really not an ending but just some annoying cliffhanger, this leaves me rather personally disappointed and for said reason also only willing and only able to consider a three star rating for Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel (and indeed, that my three star rating is also pretty generous on my part).
And to save her robot friend Cow (physically falling apart and thus at risk of being recycled), main protagonist Jak (who is a young girl with a blueish mohawk haircut in Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel and not the young boy of Jack and the Beanstalk) makes a deal with the Scrap-Man, that in exchange for him repairing Cow, she (Jak) will go to the Cloud Kingdom at the top of the space elevator ladder and bring back some necessary nano-bots (in order to provide a better life to those left behind on Earth).
Now I am definitely textually impressed with Carl Bowen's general set-up for Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel and think that many of his changes to the contents of Jack and the Beanstalk really work well (like making Jak a girl, the cow a robot, the giant a large octopus like space monster, and that indeed, the entire science fiction themed world of Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel is engaging and not just verbally but also visually fun), not to mention that even though I do find Omar Lozano's illustrations for Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel sometimes a bit too starkly pink hued for my personal visual tastes, well, Lozano's artwork certainly does bring Bowen's textual world gloriously and aesthetically to life, both mirroring and also often very nicely and interestingly expanding on what Carl Bowen is verbally providing in and with Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel (so that for example we see an idealised avatar of Jak's mother on the phone but that in reality, the mother is sedentary, chubby, vegetating in front of her computer pretty much 24/7 and that the junkyard's Scrap-Man kind of looks like a fun and smile-inducing combination of Albus Dumbeldore and Uncle Sam).
However, despite the promising beginning for Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel (and that especially Jak and Cow are nicely active and personable), sorry, but as Bowen's text progresses, his story becomes increasingly confusing, unorganised (basically all over the place) and with the ending for Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel being especially unsatisfying for me. For sadly, Carl Bowen just has Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel stop when Jak and Cow have defeated the space monster and obtained the nano-bots and thus does not show Jak returning to Earth (so that we never learn how Jak's deal with the Scrap-Man plays out and how her life and Cow's life progress and move along). Thus yes indeed, after being so invested in Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel because of the wonderful set-up and the opening sequences (and also really liking Jak and her friend Cow as characters), the ending that is really not an ending but just some annoying cliffhanger, this leaves me rather personally disappointed and for said reason also only willing and only able to consider a three star rating for Jak and the Magic Nano-beans: A Graphic Novel (and indeed, that my three star rating is also pretty generous on my part).
July 26, 2016
It's a cute twist on the traditional fairy tale. I personally like how Jack is "Jak", a somewhat sassy girl with punk hair and a couple of earrings. A fun, quick (very short story) read.
June 21, 2018
Jak lives in a post-apocalyptic Earth that is mostly evacuated. The space elevator that humans used to evacuate is still there, but it hasn't worked in years. When the Scrap Collector comes to collect Jak's beloved robot Cow, he offers her an alternative. Use some nano-beans to upgrade Cow, go to the long abandoned hub at the top of the space elevator where Scrap believes there are more nano-beans to be had, bring them back to Scrap and Cow can be hers. Jak decides to give it a shot, but no one is prepared for what is really in the space elevator.
Definitely the most imaginative Jack and the Beanstalk retelling I've ever come across. The space elevator replaces the bean stalk. A robot replaces the cow. And a huge space monster replaces the giant. As for the treasures Jak finds, I'll leave that up to you to find out when you read it. Very creative. I liked this dystopian space monster tale much better than the original fairy tale. Some of the text was a little challenging because one of the characters has a single word vocabulary (kind of like Groot) but I do like that the back of the book has a section on how to use context clues to figure out what is meant each time it says something. If you're comparing different tellings of Jack and the Beanstalk, this would be a very fun retelling to include. Also great pick for scifi middle grade fans.
Notes on content: Some kids may find the worm-like monster with tentacles and lots of teeth a little scary. It is only trying to eat robots mostly though. It gets swept out into space eventually.
Definitely the most imaginative Jack and the Beanstalk retelling I've ever come across. The space elevator replaces the bean stalk. A robot replaces the cow. And a huge space monster replaces the giant. As for the treasures Jak finds, I'll leave that up to you to find out when you read it. Very creative. I liked this dystopian space monster tale much better than the original fairy tale. Some of the text was a little challenging because one of the characters has a single word vocabulary (kind of like Groot) but I do like that the back of the book has a section on how to use context clues to figure out what is meant each time it says something. If you're comparing different tellings of Jack and the Beanstalk, this would be a very fun retelling to include. Also great pick for scifi middle grade fans.
Notes on content: Some kids may find the worm-like monster with tentacles and lots of teeth a little scary. It is only trying to eat robots mostly though. It gets swept out into space eventually.
January 25, 2018
This is a fractured fairytale version of Jack and the Beanstalk, where it's set in the future and Jak and Cow are living on a dying Earth. Jak's mother is making her trade in her Cow robot for parts because they need the money. Instead the tradesman gives Jak nanobot 'beans' to repair Cow so she can go up the elevator into the clouds and retrieve more for the tradesman. When she and Cow reach their destination, they find something they weren't expecting. Can they make it back to Earth alive and save everyone?
This idea for updating this fairytale was cool. I liked the illustrations and I think kids who are into space and robots would like this. It's really short, so it won't take too long to read.
This idea for updating this fairytale was cool. I liked the illustrations and I think kids who are into space and robots would like this. It's really short, so it won't take too long to read.
February 3, 2018
Jak has definitely modernized in this reworking of Jack and the Beanstalk. He's a she and her cow is now a robot. Together, they try to save the planet by climbing the space elevator to the space station built and abandoned many years ago. Needless to say, they save the day and return to save the planet.
Great questions at the end for comprehension.
Great questions at the end for comprehension.
April 5, 2018
Jak on tässä tarinassa näpsä tyttö, jonka paras ystävä on robotti nimeltään Cow. Jakin äiti vaatii Jakia myymään Cow'n romumetalliksi. Onneksi paikalle sattuu tyyppi, joka tarjoaa Jakille taikananopapuja sillä ehdolla, että Jak hakee pilvihissillä niitä lisää.
Scifitwistillä puristettu tarina Jaakosta ja taikapavuista on ihan hauska, etenkin, kun päähenkilö onkin tyttö.
Scifitwistillä puristettu tarina Jaakosta ja taikapavuista on ihan hauska, etenkin, kun päähenkilö onkin tyttö.
November 6, 2017
This seems to be getting mediocre reviews, but I really enjoyed this little re-telling of the classic Jack and the Beanstalk tale.
Had I read it purely on my own, I might have given it one less star, but reading it with my 7 year-old increased the enjoyment because he loved it so much.
Had I read it purely on my own, I might have given it one less star, but reading it with my 7 year-old increased the enjoyment because he loved it so much.
November 28, 2017
A fun twist on the classic tale.
April 15, 2018
My students loved it. A great twist on fairy tales!
September 9, 2018
A bit cobbled together, but really pretty art style.
February 15, 2019
I quite liked the premise, but the execution was lacklustre for me. Just not long enough, and not enough trickery on Jack's part.
August 20, 2021
Interesting retelling of a classic. My daughter loved it. Gonna check out some more.
September 7, 2021
The book was great well I didn't finish it the pages I read was good I liked the beginning.
July 3, 2023
It's fine. Feels a bit unfinished.
June 23, 2025
Yet another interesting fairy tale twisted into an interesting comic. This one was Out of this World. LOL.
December 6, 2016
#reading
October 3, 2017
Fast-paced, brightly colored, but the story is incomplete. They found the nanobots, but they still did not repair Cow so they could return home to save their planet. I guess that part is left up to the imagination. I guess I was expecting a greater connection between Jack and the Beanstalk and this story.
March 18, 2017
This was an interesting take on this fairy tale.
November 22, 2016
A modern take on the classic fairy tale moves Jak to a high tech space society where the familiar fairytale is redressed with nanobots for beans, robots for cows and a space monster for a giant.
The graphic novel is followed by a quick retell of the original story, a guide that compares parts of the original tale to this new version, a glossary of terms and visual questions to promote comprehension.
The artwork is bold and lively. The empowerment of the main characters and transformation to intelligent heroes in the modern telling is appealing to readers looking to play the role of hero (or anti-hero). A quick read, this is also great for burgeoning or reluctant readers. My staff is enjoying the re-imaging as well!
Part of the Far Out Fairy Tales series.
The graphic novel is followed by a quick retell of the original story, a guide that compares parts of the original tale to this new version, a glossary of terms and visual questions to promote comprehension.
The artwork is bold and lively. The empowerment of the main characters and transformation to intelligent heroes in the modern telling is appealing to readers looking to play the role of hero (or anti-hero). A quick read, this is also great for burgeoning or reluctant readers. My staff is enjoying the re-imaging as well!
Part of the Far Out Fairy Tales series.
December 28, 2016
In this gender bent retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, the cow is switched for a robot- model CDW-12 - and instead of magic beans, Jak receives special nano-beans that power up his robot and give it a new lease of life. Jak and Cow must travel to a new colony in the clouds to save their home planet, but first they have to defeat a giant alien that has taken over the space station.
This retelling was really funny and the relationship between Jak and Cow was heartwarming (this is the most I've ever cared about the cow!). I also loved the art in this installment of the series; the colours and textures were gorgeous!
This retelling was really funny and the relationship between Jak and Cow was heartwarming (this is the most I've ever cared about the cow!). I also loved the art in this installment of the series; the colours and textures were gorgeous!
September 5, 2017
I'm not sure why they decided to make the main character a girl, as I'm pretty sure the series appeals to girls and boys, but the updated tale was otherwise well done. This is still one if my favorite graphic novel series for young readers.
April 18, 2016
Exciting twist, but not as exciting as I maybe would've wanted/expected.
April 24, 2016
Another good Far Out Fairy Tale with extras at the back of the book. I didn't care for the pink and purple colors though.
January 9, 2017
Graphic fairy tale adaptation for grades 2- 4. The appealing illustrations are the highlight. Not my cup of tea, but I think it will be very popular with students.
April 8, 2017
Very cool artwork, sadly our library's copy was all colored in, so the important parts were scribbled out. Neat twist to the story though.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews