Jack and the Giant: A Story Full of Beans - Hardcover

Grade 1-4?A retelling of the classic story with a Wild West setting. Not only is the giant a cannibal, but he is also a cattle rustler who counts among his treasures a buffalo with the ability to produce solid gold chips. Jack makes only one visit to the top of the beanstalk, and he is assisted by a (male) cook instead of the giant's wife. As a parody, this rendition is much less imaginative and appealing than Raymond Briggs's Jim and the Beanstalk (Putnam, 1989). The cartoon illustrations, done in both transparent and opaque watercolor, are well executed; Jack is short and stubby, rather like the characters in Roy Gerrard's Rosie and the Rustlers (Farrar, 1989), and everyone mugs strenuously, including Jack's cat, who comments on the action. For all the expressiveness of the illustrations, though, they aren't as engaging as those in Steven Kellogg's Jack and the Beanstalk (Morrow, 1991), which is based on the Joseph Jacobs version of the tale. Libraries having that book or one of the more traditional versions such as those retold and illustrated by Lorinda Bryan Cauley (Putnam, 1983; o.p.) or John Howe (Little, Brown, 1989), or the one by Alan Garner, illustrated by Julek Heller, (Doubleday, 1992; o.p.) don't need to add this one. If a change of setting is desired, James Still's Jack and the Wonder Beans (Univ. Pr. of Kentucky, 1996), illustrated by Margot Tomes, retains the traditional story, but couches it in a southern Appalachian vernacular.?Pam Gosner, formerly at Maplewood Memorial Library, NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 5^-9. Appropriately subtitled, this version of the classic tale "Jack and the Beanstalk" gets a southwestern twist. Jack and his mother, Annie Okey-Dokey, live on a ranch in Arizona. A giant has stolen all their cattle, and they're forced to sell their last cow--which Jack trades for beans. The magic beanstalk this time leads to an adobe castle in the sky, where Jack encounters the giant cattle rustler Wild Bill Hiccup; from then on, the story takes its predictable turns. Filled with puns and twists, this re-telling is fun, though the humor sometimes borders on the crass (rather than a goose laying golden eggs, there's a buffalo laying golden chips). The cartoon-style art is big and bright, though the exaggerated features and characteristics, reminiscent of political cartoons, might intimidate the younger ones. Still, those familiar with the original will enjoy Jack in this new setting, and adults will appreciate some of the more sophisticated and sly asides down on the range. Shelle Rosenfeld