Fans of Adam Gidwitz and Chris Colfer will give a GIANT cheer for this funny fairytale retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk!
All work and no play makes Jack extremely bored. And when Jack gets bored, he makes mischief. It’s not that he’s bad; he just longs for adventure—and there’s nothing adventurous about toiling day and night to grow yucky green stuff.
Adventure finally arrives one day in the form of giants, and soon Jack is chasing them to a land beyond the clouds, with his little sister, Annabella, in tow. The kingdom of giants is full of slugs the size of sheep, venomous pixies as tall as grown men, and a chatty cook with the biggest mouth Jack has ever seen. There’s giant fun to be had, too: puddings to swim in, spoons to use as catapults, monster toads to carry off pesky little sisters. . . .
But Jack and Annabella are on a mission. The king of the giants has taken something that belongs to them, and they’ll do anything—even dive into a smelly tureen of green bean soup—to get it back.
Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
"...Someone Who Liked Big Adventure and a Little Mischief ..." ...
By delicateflower152
In "Jack: The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk", Liesl Shurtliff embellishes the traditional fairy tale, using imagination and humor. Targeted at the 8 - 12 year age range and grades 3 - 7, this book is also an excellent bedtime read-aloud for children as young as 5-years of age.Villages are being destroyed, and people and animals are disappearing. Known as being "naughty" since he is "...someone who liked big adventure and a little mischief..." Jack, the great-great-great-great-great-great-GREAT grandson of Jack the Giant Killer, is wrongly accused of stealing Miss Lettie Nettle's cabbages. When Jaber, the one-legged peddler, tells a doubting audience that giants are the culprits, Jack is the only one to believe him. After his father and a newborn calf disappear, Jack is determined to discover the truth.To save his mother and sister Arabella from starving, Jack trades the family's remaining cow to Jaber for giant beans. They will produce the beanstalk on which he ascends to the giant world. Once there, Jack - who the giants think is an elf -is captured by Mum Martha. She is a tenderhearted giant who "adopts" Jack; she is also the giant king's head chef. The evil giant King Barf (Bartholomew Archibald Reginald Fife) loves gold and his hen Treasure lays golden eggs on command. Even though famine plagues his kingdom, King Barf is concerned only with acquiring more gold. When Arabella appears, Jack's quest becomes even more challenging. Close escapes and eventual capture are Jack's fate. Of course, he triumphs and finds his father as well as saving other villagers and the giant world from destruction."Jack: The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk" is appropriate for the target age group. Language is clean and the story is not overly gruesome or violent. Vocabulary is of the appropriate difficulty and will not require a dictionary to enjoy the story. The emphasis on the importance of family, the valuing of individuals over wealth/things, and the realization Jack has that his sister and others may have skills that he does not are good lessons woven into the story. Adult readers and more sophisticated 'tween readers may find Liesl Shurtliff's novel more simplistic than other novels based on fairytales. The humor is less subtle and other fairytale characters are not as evidently woven into the story, nor are social concerns or historic events disguised as components of the novel. However, my kindergarten-age grandson loved the book and rated it 5-stars after having it read to him.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.Fun and adventur in the land of giants
By Neal Reynolds
Kids should love this fractured fairy tale which gives us a humorous and adventurous version of Jack and the Beanstalk. The author has previously done the same with Rump, a revision of Rumplestilskin. Jack is set in the same world as the earlier book and there is a character in this who was featured in the earlier book. BTW, author Liesl Shurtiff's next will be a revision of Red Riding Hood, and I for one am looking forward to reading that.Anyway, this is an often hilarious, and action packed adventure for middle graders. It's a fun romp in fairy tale land and will provide amusement to any adults as well as kids who chance to read this. As amusing and entertaining as it is, this is also an intelligently plotted story with enjoyable characters, especially Jack and his sister Annabelle. The sister's portrayal makes this a good book for girls as well as for the boys it's targeted for. I recommend this as a superior kid's book..
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.Jack is Back!
By Kort
JACK - Ms. Shurtliff's adaptation of Jack and the Beanstalk - is a fun romp for both kids and adults that brings added dimension to the traditional fairy tale. My 5th grade daughter really enjoyed reading this very expansive adaptation. She read and loved RUMP (this same author's version of Rumplestilskin) so this was a no-brainer. Perhaps partly because now Jack has brought his sister Annabella along with him it interested her more, but she and I enjoyed all of the added adventure and mischief that ensues in this retelling. It is an easy, entertaining read, but it is also well written and engaging. I recommend it for middle schoolers who like fairy tales with a bit more meat and fun to them. We're both looking forward to reading RED when it is published. In an age of "rebooting" established stories and movies, this is a worthy addition.~ Kort
