Jack and the Beanstalk - Softcover

Metaxas, Eric

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0689815832 ISBN 13: 9780689815836

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1997

Synopsis

A boy climbs to the top of a giant beanstalk where he uses his quick wits to outsmart an ogre and make his and his mother's fortune

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4-- Rhythmic, rollicking and sly describe this version of the familiar fairy tale. Metaxas draws readers into this very British retelling with wily, wild caricatures read by the Monty Python star. When the giant comes home and smells Jack (who is hiding in the oven), his wife scolds, ```Nonsense, dearie. . . You must be dreaming. Unless, of course, it's the scraps of that English boy you had for yesterday's dinner . . . .''' However, there are times when the text's affect is better oral than written (keep in mind that this is a book-cassette set); in one instance, the phrase, ``and he climbed'' is repeated six times. For listeners, the repetition is emphatic; but for readers, it's overkill. The illustrations are effective. Scuzzy, pot-bellied, and dim, the giant is so disgusting that no one minds that he's robbed. Related in squiggly pen-and-ink line drawings with watercolor washes that catch the spirit of both Ardizzone and Galdone, Jack's adventure is as satisfying as ever. A good choice for folklore shelves, and a better one for audio collections. --Carolyn Noah, Central Mass. Regional Library System, Worcester, MA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0689815832
• ISBN 13: 9780689815836
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Sorel Edward