It's Not Jack and the Beanstalk

What would happen if a fairy tale character revolted and refused to follow the traditional version of his tale? Josh Funk explores that idea in his picture book It's Not Jack and the Beanstalk when Jack and the narrator experience a battle for control of Jack's story.

I'm a huge fan of alternate fairy tales, but they have to be well written. I recently passed on reviewing a nursery rhyme alternate tale that I didn't feel lived up to a quality retelling of the story. This version is not only fun to read, but it also starts the conversation of why fairy tale characters don't question their paths more often. In this story it takes a while for Jack to get control of his own journey. At the beginning while he questions the narrorator's control, he still is forced into following the story. However, when Jack and the giant meet the two begin to question the path they are on and in talking to each other they find a new path, much to the frustration of the narrator who tries desperately to regain control of the story.

This was one of the better alternate fairy tale books I've read in a while and I think it would be a great way to encourage kids to discuss and even write their own alternate versions of fairy tales. Why couldn't more fairy tale characters revolt against their narrators and find new happier paths.

Jack: The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk

Jack: The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk is the second book in Liesl Shurtliff's Fairy Tale series.

This book changes the premise of the story. The reader is presented with the idea that giants aren't giants, but instead that Jack is an elf. Just by changing premise of the story, the actions of all the characters from the traditional tale tilt. This book opens up the universe from the previous novel Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskinbut keeps connects the stories characters consistently.

The author has upended the whole concept of the Jack stories as she did with Rump. Jack is still a mischievous child. However, he also shows a good deal more responsibility and remorse for his action in this story than he does in the traditional tales. The author sets up Jack for a different experience however. In the traditional tale, Jack's father is dead and he is struggling to help his mother keep the family going. In this story Jack's family is intact. His father is his role model and defender. Jack's father tells him stories of his Grandfather the giant killer filling his son's desire for adventure. He also is the one who reminds the mother character that a boy's high energy is natural not a sign of evil. When the giants attack and his father goes missing, this triggers Jack's trade of the cow for the magic beans that will allow him to go to the land of the giants to rescue his father. It was a small, but interesting twist to the story.

In this version Jack discovers the giants have an ecological disaster on their hands due to an overuse of magic. They have been raiding Jack's world for food as their own land has been cursed and will no longer grow. However, do to the small size of the animals and the food, they require the use of elves to help them to milk the smaller cows and to help out with tasks too small for the giants to manage.

Those who have read Rump, will soon understand who the giants really are and also understand how this problem got so bad for the kingdom. Jack's is able to help both worlds reach a satisfactory conclusion to the problem.

My criticism of the book is similar to the first novel. Jack is a much rounder character than we find in most of the traditional tales. Even some of the supporting characters are deeper than one might expect. However the villains are still not as well balanced as they could be and remain flat.

Giants Have Feelings, Too

Giants Have Feelings, Too: Jack and the Beanstalk Retold (Another Point of View)is another Dr. Alvin Granowsky Point of View book published by Steck-Vaughn. The format continues with the traditional Jack in the Beanstalk Story told on one side and the giant's story told when you flip the book upside down.

One thing I noticed as I reviewed this book is the font and the illustrations are very different for the two stories. The illustrations in Jack's stories are bright and vivid. The font is very traditional. The Giant's story has more of a cartoon style and a different font designed to set the story apart.

Any child who has heard the story of Jack in the Beanstalk will be familiar with the traditional version. The second tale ponders questions that have been raised for generations. Is Jack a hero or a thief? Was it OK for Jack to steal from the Giants and because they were giants? Since the story is told from the Giant's perspective, it does not begin with the magic beans and the cow, but with the first encounter between Jack and the Giants. The Giant's wife makes a very clear case that she and her husband Herbert were taken advantage of by Jack and as a result lost all of the treasures they accumulated through hard work and sacrifice. She even expresses hope at one point in the story that Jack's mother will not want her boy to prosper from stealing and have him return what he has stolen.

This book would be the basis for a very lively debate even among older children who may believe they are past the age for reading fairy tales. The issues are very interesting and some students may never have considered the questions raised by the Giant's wife.

Trust Me, Jack's Beanstalk Stinks!

Trust Me, Jack's Beanstalk Stinks!: The Story of Jack and the Beanstalk as Told by the Giant (The Other Side of the Story)is the strongest of the books I have reviewed in this series so far.

Eric Braun makes a great case for the giant. He presents him as a likeable fellow and quickly casts Jack as a thief with a smooth tongue who charms the giant's wife into cheating him. He creates a very believable alternate story and one finds it hard not to feel that the giant's story should be considered more strongly when students hear Jack's tale.

In a fairy tale trial, this would provide a great basis for the giant's defense and open the potential for a trial against Jack.