Home > Categories > Books > Kids - General > Jack and the Baked Beanstalk review
Jack and his mum run a little burger cafe thats close to broke, so when Jack spends their last pennies on a can of baked beans, his mum throws them out the window... starting a GIANT adventure!
Discover what happens when a fairy tale unfolds in a modern metropolis in Colin Simpson's spellbinding story.
Product reviews...
We won this from KIWIreviews :) YAY thank you ... and i've been hanging out to read this to my Mr 3. Finally tonight we had some time so we sat down, Its a very very long picture book and seems a bit daunting and i was concerned that my son may not sit though it all. But we made it!! Its an awesome take on the original, and the author has done justice with it ... i LOVED it!!
I did notice a few mistakes in the book, which really let it down ... made me wonder if it was even proofread before being published! Also there are a lot of commas, so the style of writing in my opinion isn't great.... but out loud it reads fine. Maybe im just picky!.
The pictures are not typical of a modern day book, they are a bit dull and there is heaps going on in them. This was part of what i really enjoyed about the book, again i wondered how my son would like this - he didn't care though.
I love the giant, and the fact of urbanisation and city growth coming into it - taking business away from small business... all very relevant in today's society. I will definitely be picking this book again to read when the kids let me pick the book to read before bed! - just a shame on the basic oversight of spelling mistakes.
My daughter (5) was lucky enough to win a copy of this book in a competition from KIWIreviews, so thank you very much for that The book arrived 2 days ago, and she immediately tore the package open and wanted me to read it to her straight away.
Now I must confess this is the first variation of the original Jack and the beanstalk that I have seen, so I was quite prepared to drop my assignment then and there and sit down with her to see what all this baked bean talk was about.
What a fantastic take on the original...I loved it! Its absolute brilliance. And miss 5 loved it too. The cover is not one you look at briefly and then never look at again...no not at all! Its one you study, point at, and discuss....just like the illustrations on every page within those covers....and yes you may just found when the story is over you find yourself back studying that front cover again.
The storyline is awesome. The plot is the same as the original, but in this version, the giant is just lovely! He looks like the giant hamburger eating baby that was in an old popeye cartoon I once watched. Friendly, yet interesting...cause for more study of those pages. The story has brief moments of sadness, but overall is a feel good story with a fantastic happy ending, that shows anything is possible.
A really great read, that already has become a firm favorite and a regular bedtime story for my children.
Thank you again KIWIreviews.
Having seen all of the re-imaginings in the Kiwi Corker series, I was quite interested to see the "new and modernised" version of the classic "Jack and Beanstalk" tale. Must admit, this was certainly a pleasant read for all concerned.
Being set in a very modern "Americanised" version of the world, roughly around the late 70s by my guess, yet still retaining with great fidelity the original... while still managing to squeeze in a nice twist that makes this tale of caution into one of hope and entertainment for the little ones.
The artwork is some of the best I have seen in a childrens' book, and Mr3 loved being able to tell me about all the elements of the images... the cars, trucks and vans and their colours, the different foods on the Giant's plate, etc.
Overall, this was a wonderful addition to the nocturnal literary experiences, and one that I think every adult will find charming.
This paper back, glossy illustrated, book is just gorgeous. We already have a few variations of the traditional tale of Jack and the Beanstalk but so far this is my favourite.
The illustrations are beautiful. A mix of blurry and very detailed illustrations which I really liked. Its great when a book can be written and illustrated by the same person because I think they then truely capture the essence of their story. The typeset is perfect for the story as well.
This story is not at all scary so was great for Miss Three who likes her fantasy world to be very pleasant! The Little Misses really enjoyed re-reading this. Some of the Giants in other books are a little fierce but this giant is of the lovely gentle kind!
If you like the essence of Jack and the Beanstalk then I think this is a very enjoyable, modern twist to a traditional tale.
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