Look Out Jack! The Giant Is Back

by Tom Birdseye, Will Hillenbrand (Illustrator)

Taking up where "Jack and the Beanstalk" left off, the felled giant's big brother comes after Jack, but once again Jack's quick mind gets him out of trouble in the nick of time.

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Childrens, Humor, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

About the author

I grew up in North Carolina and Kentucky, an ardent fan of anything that smacked of sports, crawdads, mud balls, forts built in the woods, secret codes, bicycles without fenders, butter pecan ice cream, and snow. I was, however, decidedly uninterested in writing-or any academic aspect of school, for that matter-never imagining that at the age of thirty-five I would become a published author. And yet after two unrelated college degrees, a year living in Japan, and ten years of teaching experience, that is what happened. Life, it seems, is full of who'd-a-thought-its.

I live in Corvallis, Oregon, with my wife, Debbie. Our two daughters, Kelsey and Amy, are both off on their own, living and working in Portland. When not writing, working at the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in creative writing, or in classrooms talking with children and teachers about the writing process, I enjoy rock climbing, alpine ascents, scaling big trees, ski mountaineering, snowshoeing, backpacking, mountain biking, running, playing the string bass, and reading.

Even after many books published and awards won, at times it still amazes me that writing is my profession. It was such a difficult process for me when I was a kid; I can really identify with the reluctant writer in school today. Everything seemed to get in the way of my completing stories: from being left-handed, to my poor spelling skills, from punctuation woes, to especially a lack of ideas. Fortunately, the right people came along at the right time and helped me see past the hurdles, emphasizing instead the joy of the work and the satisfaction to be had in trying to uncover the important truths that can come out of fiction. Now I carry a small notebook at all times and am always on the lookout for material I can use in a story: ordinary people that would make good characters, the funny, telling, or poignant glimpses of life that are triggered by what I see and hear, and the wonderfully wise things people will say at the most unexpected times.

True, I still labor through my stories, wrestling with the spelling beast and the punctuation monster, writing and rewriting, then rewriting some more, until I glean my best, but the process has become one of pleasure instead of pain. I love doing it, and I love sharing it with others. The boy who couldn't imagine himself a writer, now can't imagine himself anything else.

Reviews

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jack and his mother escape and leave to America only to find that the giant's brother has found them and is now out to take revenge. Jack will need to use his cleverness to get out of this one.

Nice, cute book.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever extension to the familiar tale.

[Bekah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Long winded. Boring. 0/5 can not recommend

[Emily Dougherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

o Grades K-2
o Traditional
o This fun continuation of the classic story Jack and the bean stock is a great read for any child. I think it is a great read and a lot of fun to see the end!

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The kids that I read this to thought the most interesting part of this book was the giant having green feet. They weren't far off. It wasn't a bad story, but it was pretty easy to see where it was going from the start. Birdseye tried to turn a pretty well played out story into a story with a little more mileage left in the tank. Giving it an American tall tale style rebirth helped a little. The smelly, green foot gag helped a little more. Managing to avoid killing another giant and successfully dispatching him at the same time was probably his finest touch. Overall, the story was okay. I'll probably forget it before too very long, but it was fun while it lasted.

[Kim Barth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very funny sequel to the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Jack and his mother have come to America, but the giant's angry brother follows them and demands that Jack return the hen, the magic harp, and all the giant's gold. It isn't easy, but Jack manages to outsmart the giant and lives happily ever after- for real this time. This book would provide an example of how students could write their own sequels to well-known fairy tales.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a decent sequel to a story that doesn't yet have sequels I know of, but the flavor/locale of the story is so strong that it doesn't really match up as a traditional sequel. I would almost rather the author had done his own variation of the original story, or even a new story entirely. Right now it's half variant and half sequel. Designed for older readers I think.

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Birdseye came to our elementary school for a talk, and boy, was he a hit! The kids love his books, and enjoyed hearing him talk about his childhood and journey as a writer. He read this book out loud to us; most of the audience knew the giant's rhyme and said it with him. Overall a wonderful person who really took the time to make reading into something memorable.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute "what happened next" of the Jack and the Beanstalk story. The Giant's brother comes after Jack for the gold, the hen that lays the golden eggs, and the harp. Jack hotfoots it to America where he believes he'll be safe from this new Giant. But, the Giant finds him and Jack must use his wits to escape for a second time.

Really great, goofy illustrations.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, Jack alternate story. I'd give it four stars, but the hero marries and lives happily ever after. Why, I perpetually ask, does it seem fun to teach our children this horrible thing at such a young age? It leads us astray in our search for marital happiness later in life. Enough rant.

[Jen]

An extension to Jack and the Beanstalk with a North Carolina twist; good way to introduce students to the use of dialect in literature. (Choice)

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun follow up to Jack & The Beanstalk. The Giant's brother wants the gold, hen and harp back!

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

My English teacher read this book to us. It was such a great book! (Sarcasm) Okay it wasn't bad. It just kept me occupied in class haha.

[Kirsten Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun spin-off of Jack and the Beanstalk. It's good to know that giants really can be outsmarted!

[Joe Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

great lead in to other nursery rhymes
interesting sequel to a classic fairy tale.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny