Jack and the Beanstalk (Keepsake Stories) (Volume 7)

When I was a kid, my dad would read Jack and the Beanstalk to my brother and me. He has a boomy voice and could Fee Fi Fo Fum like nobody's business. Well, I wanted to have that memory with my son, too, so I got him this book for Christmas.

The book itself is only O.K. The story line is the same as the old classic, but the dialog and narration fall flat. For instance, when Jack first climbs up the beanstalk, the narration is as follows:

"Without waking his mother, Jack started climbing the beanstalk. His arms and legs began to ache, but he forgot about them when he saw the castle."

Then he knocks. There is no sense of awe or adventure. The passage sounds more like an afternoon stroll to the neighbor's house.

Also, each time after the first that the male giant enters the scene, his "Fee Fi Fo Fum" line gets shorter. The second time, it ends before "Be he alive," and the third time, his wife cuts him off with, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." For me, that ruined the immersion in a fantastical world, and left me disappointed.

This is Jack, but it's not the rich, immersive Jack from your childhood. You would be wise to find a better version.

I was very anxious to get this story because my 3 yr daughter saw a segment about Jack and the Beanstalk on a Barney video and loved the story....I have bought other books in this series and loved them so I naturally went for this version as well. But I am disappointed - It isn't the story so much that bothers me....it is the illustrations in the book....dark, too adult....no whimsy or colors....very very green and very dreary and even scary for a 3 year old....After reading one time the book to my daughter, the next time I took it out she said "No, not that book....its ugly".... my daughter is a book nut you loves to be read ...and she isn't a child who needs colors to love a book - she loves "The Giving Tree" for example....But this book just has very drak, and gloomy drawings....to be honest before even reading it to her, I thought it was kinda ugly too....ugly atleast for a children's book....
I think the other stories in the series are great but pass on this one for the under 4 age crowd....more for the llustrations then anything else....

I thought this was a great version of the story with great graphics. I used to tell this story from memory to my 2 yr old daughter and it's all she wanted to hear about, so I thought I'd look for a book. This story was pretty much the same one, had more details than what I remembered, but good details. For those interested (since it's not real clear), here is a summary of how this specific book tells the story:

-Jack and his mom (who is out of work) are poor and decide to sell their cow
-Jack goes to sell it but is met by a man on the way who trades the cow for magic beans
-Jack's mom gets angry and throws the beans out the window, resulting in a beanstalk
-Jack climbs the beanstalk to find a castle
-The female giant agrees to let Jack work for some money, but warns him that her husband will want to eat him if he gets caught
-Jack steals some gold coins from the male giant while he is sleeping (which the giant stole from Jack's village in the first place)
-Jack goes back up a second time and steals the goose that lays the golden eggs
-Jack goes up a third time to steal the singing harp, against his mother's request, which ends up waking up the giant, who chases jack down the beanstalk
-Jack and his mom chop down the beanstalk, destroying the giant

It is very difficult to find fairy tales appropriate for preschoolers -- either they are too close to the original, "dark" versions or they are too wordy/lengthy to keep a young child's attention. This book is great, because it is direct, simple, yet well-written. The story is not all roses and rainbows, but it's not as brutal as the original Grimm or Andersen tales. The pictures are beautiful. My four-year-old loves this story, more than any of the others in the series, and now he knows what we mean when we yell "Fee fi fo fum!" when we come looking for him during hide-and-seek!

I purchased this book because I enjoyed it going up and I read it to my children. Now I'm a grandma and decided to start reading to my grandchildren and they love it, what surprised me the most is the price of this used (NEW) book, it wasnt used at all and I was able to personalize this book with their names in it so now they smile saying read my book.
this was one of many books I've purchased and love so much. I have recommended this to my children for home collections. even their cheap selves can afford this. Thank you soo much
This one is a favorite of my eldest granddaughter every night! but I love this time with them.

I bought a few fairy tale books from this collection. They have just the right amount of words for preschoolers/kindergartners. I told some parts in my own words, but the kids LOVED these stories and really caught on. Must have this classic in your collection!

This is another book, parents should get for their children's bookshelves. A classic tale about a lazy boy named Jack, who trade a cow for magic beans instead of money. The magic beans grew into a very high beanstalk that reaches the clouds. Curious Jack climbed up the stalk where he met a fairy telling him how the orge was the one who killed his father and took all of their fortune. Jack went to steal back the golden ehh laying hen, the bags of gold and the magic harp in three visits and ended up killing the giant by cutting fown the tree. In ways, this book actually is a story of revenge of Jack towards the ogre.

This is a nice version of the story, and the illustrations are nicer than I expected for a bargain priced paperback. Just FYI- this is the adaptation of the story that claims the giant stole the gold, goose, and harp from Jack's family, which I suppose somewhat diminishes the heinousness of the theft/murder Jack and his mother commit. (Okay, not at all, but apparently that's why this rendition has become more popular in the last generation.) This reads as a classic, with just a bit of humor.

Not the same Story I remember as a child. Bought it for my 2 1/2 grandson. Choice of words are poor at best and story line falls flat on its face. No feeling and a bit crass and disjointed. Save your money.

I remembered liking this story as a kid; and I love the illustrations in other books by this author and illustrator. But the story is terrible for children! it opens with a widow who believes her kid is stupid, who trades a cow for beans. Mom chastises kiddo for it and angrily throws out the beans. Awesome parenting example? I think not.

The beanstalk grows, Jack goes up, steals some money. Mom again chastises but says shes grateful because the giants stole it from them anyway, and killed Jack's dad. Another great parenting moment? Nope.

Jack goes up the stalk again without asking, saying he didn't promise to listen, and steals more. 2 more times repeats. I'm not sure about you, but my preschooler does not need to learn about murder, lying and stealing that result in no consequences, and in this story result in getting rich! Classic tale, sure. But not appropriate in this day and age.