Jack and the Beanstalk
by Ann Keay Benaduce
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Having traded the family's only cow for beans, Jack hears the angry tone of his mother upon his return, yet when the beans turn into a magical stalk that rises to a kingdom above the clouds, young Jack's luck is about to change forever.

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.

SLJ Reviews 1999 November (SL9K)

K-Gr 4-Beneduce and Spirin have previously paired their talents for Gulliver's Adventures in Lilliput (1996), The Tempest (1996), and Snow White and Rose Red (1997, all Philomel). Here they turn their hand to what is perhaps the most well known of the Jack tales. Beneduce has a fine command of the language, and the narrative flows smoothly. Spirin's watercolor-and-tempera paintings are nothing less than gorgeous, using dark, soft tones to create a misty fairy-tale world. Beneduce has, however, elected to use a version of the tale that supplies Jack with the moral prerogative to steal the giant's treasures. Partway up the beanstalk, Jack meets a fairy who informs him that it was this particular giant who killed Jack's father and stole the family fortune, and it is now his duty to avenge these wrongs. As a result, this Jack may hold less appeal for some readers. He is no longer a bold adventurer who uses wit and cunning to triumph over brainless brawn but is instead a good little boy who is only following orders. Those expecting the cheeky lad found in Joseph Jacobs's 1898 collection of English fairy tales will be disappointed. Those who are more comfortable with Jack possessed of righteous justification are in for a treat. Beneduce includes an expository note detailing the historical background of the Jack cycle as well as her own reasons for preferring this rather didactic version of the tale.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Booklist Monthly Selections - #1 November 1999 (BL9U)

Ages 6^-8. Beneduce bases her version of Jack and the Beanstalk on a Victorian version, complete with a fairy guardian. It is the fairy who takes credit for the beanstalk's wondrous growth and gives Jack moral justification for killing the giant by saying, "This wicked creature killed your father and stole all his riches. The giant warned your poor mother never to tell you anything about your father or how he died, or he would murder her, and you, too . . . It is up to you to avenge your father and to take back what is rightfully yours." The book is lengthened, but not strengthened by Jack's encounter with the fairy--two full pages of stop-the-action, fill-in-the-background text. Still, this long variant of the tale is graceful and dramatic enough apart from that episode. Spirin contributes some glorious borders for the text as well as many impressively detailed paintings, notable for their dark, muted colors and mysterious, foggy look. Recommended for larger collections. ((Reviewed November 1, 1999)) Copyright 2000 Booklist Reviews