Jack the Giant-Killer: Jack's First and Finest Adventure

by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, Anne Wilsdorf (Illustrator)

Retells in verse Jack's encounter with a giant, including such lore as the right way to shake hands with a giant.

Genres: Picture Books

38 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1987

About the author

Beatrice Schenk de Regniers earned a M.Ed from the University of Chicago in 1941. Her first book, The Giant Story, was published in 1953.

Beatrice Schenk de Regniers also wrote under the pseudonym Tamara Kitt.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

American author Beatrice Schenk de Regniers and Swiss illustrator Anne Wilsdorf team up in this poetic retelling of the traditional Cornish folktale of Jack the Giant Killer, in which a fearsome giant begins to raid the coast of Cornwall, until his depredations are stopped by young Jack. The folktale itself is told quickly, while the rest of the book is given over to traditional sayings and beliefs about giants, as well as some advice on how to shake hands with these massive beings...

Published in 1987, Jack the Giant Killer: Jack's First & Finest Adventure Retold in Verse was the second collaboration between this author and illustrator, following upon their 1985 Jack and the Beanstalk Retold in Verse . I found it interesting, but confess to enjoying the section with the various sayings about giants more than the retelling of the actual tale, perhaps because de Regniers' poetic text didn't really speak to me. The illustrations from Wilsdorf were appealing, with a real sense of humor that I enjoyed. I've been meaning to track down her own picture book (about a witch, of course), Philomene , so perhaps this will spur me on. In any case, while I'm glad to have read this one, I would recommend it primarily to those who enjoy giant lore, rather than readers looking for a particularly outstanding retelling of this tale.

[Marilyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was good but the second part was filler.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was unusual one and if you can overlook the sometimes goolish (giant eating the children) it was giving advice if you should ever encounter a giant. What to do if you should hever shake his hands. How lakes were made by him. How a little boy named Jack killed a giant that was mean and had killed many children.

[Shannon Ginley · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Jack the Giant-Killer” by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers and Anne Wilsdorf; published by Atheneum; New York; copyright 1987
1. Awards this book received: This book has not received any awards.
2. Appropriate grade level(s): This book is appropriate for children in preschool to third grade.
3. Summary: This book is about a boy named Jack and a Giant who lives on an island near Jack. Every night the Giant would make its way into each town and steal anything he wanted to eat. Jack became fed up with the Giants tactics, swam to his island, and dug a huge hole he covered up with straw in an attempt to kill him. He startled the Giant with a horn, which got him very angry, but in trying to catch Jack, the Giant fell into the hole and died.
4. Review: I am not sure how I feel about this book because it exhibits a lesson about standing up to bullies, but also about using violence to get revenge on someone. It is a cute little folktale because the book has a mini story about a boy and a Giant, and then goes on to tell some legends about natural landmarks created by Giants, such as lakes being a Giant’s footprints, thunder being a Giant’s laugh, and winds being a Giant blowing on his soup. I like how the author presents each illustration by taking up the entire page and engulfing the words into the picture.
5. Uses in the classroom:
- This book can teach children about critical thinking. The children can witness the consequences of characters and their actions, and actually see the results to each character based on the decisions they made.
- This book can facilitate key factors in creative thought processes by using imagination and cultural literacy presented in this folktale. This book exhibits cultural differences in the world outside the student’s normal lives as Jack lives on a farm in a village in England.