Jack and the Beanstalk

Jack and the Beanstalk

Retold and Illustrated By: Albert Lorenz and Joy Schleh

Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, 2002

28 Pages

Traditional Literature

     I chose this book, because I was interested to see how the story was retold.  It begins with Jack and his mother.  All they have is a cottage and a cow, which is not giving them any milk.  Jack’s mother tells him to go sell it.  On the way to town, he meets an old man who trades some “magic beans” for his cow.  His mother his upset with him, but the next morning Jack sees a huge beanstalk! He climbs it and finds a large castle at the top.  Giants live there; the woman giant lets him inside when he says he is hungry, but explains that he needs to stay away from her husband.  Jack has to hide when the giant man comes into the room.  He finds a bag of gold coins and makes a small device with wheels to transport it back home.  Once Jack and his mother use all the gold up, Jack decides to go back to the castle.  This time, he finds a golden hen and lowers it down the beanstalk.  Jack’s mother is so happy that they now have a way of making money.  But, even though they now have what they need, Jack is still interested in the castle; he goes back.  This time, he takes a golden harp; he drops it as he is trying to move it down the beanstalk, and the giants pile in behind him. Once he gets to the bottom, he explains what is going on to his mother.  Then, Jack and his mother cut down the beanstalk; the giants fall into the ocean and are never seen again, and they share their gold with the rest of the town!

     The illustrations in the book are wonderful.  They are so incredibly detailed! The authors/ artists did a great job with the size.  In the back of the book it explains how they actually made a scale as they were drawing the pictures.  The book is large and there are several two page spreads.  I love the format that the artists used with proportion.  The illustrators also put smaller pictures at the tops of the pages to show close ups of what is happening as Jack travels down the beanstalk.  The colors are very bright; the illustrations are done through sketching with pencil and pen and our painted with watercolors. 

     I would use this book to teach morals to my students as well.  It teaches a lesson on helping others who don’t have as much as you do.  I think this is important for students to learn, because it builds their character and tells them the difference between right and wrong.  I would probably do a story map along with the book that tells the characters, setting, and plot of the story.  I could also do a writing activity where students write about a time that they have helped someone.  I could use it to teach sequencing of events as well, and have my students put the events in the correct order.  I feel as though the book is most appropriate for kindergarten through second grade.