Jack and the Beanstalk

by Rita Balducci, Richard Walz (Illustrator)

An adaptation of the well-loved fairy tale follows the ambitious Jack as he scales the beanstalk and hears a giant thunder, a hen lay golden eggs, and three other magical sounds.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

23 pages, Hardcover

First published May 26, 1965

Reviews

[Holly Griffin]

This version of Jack and the Beanstalk appears to not deviate much from the widely told tale of a boy traded his mother and his own supposed "only possession" for some magic beans, which leads Jack on unusual adventure up into a different setting that has houses a giant and some other notable "creatures." Folklore is largely associated with telling tales and doing so with a lesson embedded in the story. This particular folklore appears to follow along the lines of, you reap what you sew, in the sense that the giant supposedly stole goods from Jack's family and in turn met a tragic end; however, the reaping is a rather harsh ending for the giant, which is another reoccurrence in folklore. Sometimes the events can be rather odd and/or extreme within various tales that "teach lessons;" however, this particular version of Jack and the Beanstalk does not include many gruesome features, other than the giants poor tendencies and the tragic end of the giant. The text is not complex and appears to be to the point in its telling of the story. There are additions, however, that make the story have a bouncy appeal, such as the possibly familiar line of, "Fe, fi, fo, fun," which is a line the giant uses that follows with an additional sentence ending in rhyme. The text ends on a familiar note as well that states, "and so Jack and his mother lived happily ever after"- a common ending for fairytales and possibly other categories that are associated with folklore. The illustrations appear to be done in watercolor and most likely another art form as well and help establish setting, reinforce the text, and show character development as well. For instance, the text states that, "the giant commanded the hen to lay a golden egg and the little hen clucked and laid him an egg;" however, the illustration allows one to see that hen has supposed sweat drops falling from its face, indicated that the hen was nervous and most likely did not want to be within that setting. Overall, the story is a a straight forward (even for a folklore) retelling of a classic tale that has many versions printed ad published, yet allows one to see the possible appeal of the well-known tale.

[Jacelyn Neuleib]

My favorite aspect of the traditional stories I have read is that they tend to be centered around child characters who are less fortunate than others. The same goes for this story, I just think it is nice for representation and so that students living in poverty can see themselves as characters who are about to have something amazing happen to them. This story moved a little fast for me. I'm not sure about stories that have a quick and easy resolution. However, I liked that the harp and hen that Jack stole were once his families belongings. I think that's the author's attempt to justify his stealing and to wrap the story up.

[Natalie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t like this version at all. Jack only goes up the beanstalk once and steals the hen and the harp without knowing they once belonged to his father. I understand taking them back if he already knew, but he just stole from the giant. Not a good message for children that they can just steal something if they want it.

[Kylie Abecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

An adorable little adaptation of the original. Lovely pictures and well written short tale.

[Lorellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm only reviewing the art in this book, which quite good. I summarized the story for Tot.