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. John Cech retells this popular story with humour and warmth, adding plenty of entertaining details 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.
This book features in the following series: Classic Fairy Tale Collection, Silver Penny Stories .
There are 32 pages in this book.
This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+).
This book was published in 2015 by Sterling Publishing Co Inc .
John Cech writes plays, poetry and fiction for both children and adults. Lucy Corvino's books for Sterling include several Classic Starts[trademark] titles, Poetry for Young People: Robert Louis Stevenson 9781402754760 and numerous joke and puzzle books. John Cech writes plays, poetry and fiction for both children and adults and is a Professor of English at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Robert MacKenzie has worked as a Concept, Visual Development and Colour Key artist at Lucasfilm, PDI Dreamworks and Blue Sky Studios.
This book contains the following story:
Jack and the Beanstalk
˜Fee fie 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'. Lazy Jack lives with his poor mother in a little shack. They are so poor that one day she sends Jack off to market to sell their cow so they can buy food. On the way to market Jack meets a stranger who persuades him to part with the cow for some magic beans. When Jack returns home with no cow and no money his mother is furious and throws the beans out of the window. The next morning the two awake to find that a huge beanstalk has gronw from the beans. Jack climbs the beanstalk and finds a new land at the top complete with a castle and a very grumpy giant. Whilst the giant is asleep Jack steals a hen that lays golden eggs. On a second trip he steals bags of money. On the third trip he tries to steal a golden harp, but the harp calls for its master and the giant wakes up and follows Jack down the beanstalk. As soon as Jack reaches the ground, he sets to work to chop
Praise for Jack and the Beanstalk
"Because the bones of this classic tale are right, Cech's enhancements feel right, too. . . . Mackenzie's watercolor illustrations are done in a folk style using a green and gold palette with touches of red. The giant, with his very small head and bleary eyes, contrasts nicely with the rosy cheerfulness of Jack and his mother. Perspective is used to advantage, showing the beanstalk disappearing in the clouds and then the insubstantial base when seen from the top." --School Library Journal
" . . . knits fresh strands into the Jack-and-the-beanstalk story. This smoothly paced version, which begins with some humorous wordplay, runs close to traditional tellings until the end . . . Mackenzie ably ramps up the drama in the pencil-and-paint scenes of apple-cheeked Jack eluding the bulbous-nosed, ham-handed giant. The extensive final note, connecting the story's motifs to archetypal tales throughout history, adds another reason for purchase, even in libraries where multiple versions of the story exist." --Booklist
