A Bean, a Stalk and a Boy Named Jack

Things are tough in the kingdom. It hasn’t rained for a really long time. Everything is drying up from crops to wells to rivers, lakes, and even birdbaths. Everyone is pretty uncomfortable, but when the king’s little toe starts to smell, well, something has to be done. When the king demands everyone in the kingdom cry so he can have enough tears to bathe, his daughter goes to the local wizard for help. The wizard does his magical thing, and a smallish magic bean finds its way to a smallish regular kid named Jack. That’s when things start to change.

William Joyce has written an absolutely charming and funny fractured fairy tale based on the popular Jack and the Beanstalk story. He twists and turns the story around and adds fun new characters to the old tale, changing the ending just enough to lead to another fairy tale. Let’s hope he fractures that one as well. Kenny Callicutt completes the makeover with delightful illustrations that have plenty of fun details to keep picture book readers turning the pages and asking for this fun story to be read over and over again.