A bean, a stalk and a boy named Jack is a twist on the classic story, Jack and the Beanstalk. This is a great book for kids because it's pretty funny and leaves room for the reader to make inferences about why there is a drought. In this version, there is a child giant in the castle above who is taking a very long bath. Because of this, there is no rain down below. When Jack goes up the beanstalk he meets the "little giant' and encourages him to get out of the tun. Once he is out and drains the water, the town below finally gets rain. I like this book because it encourages imagination. It also has great illustrations with, uses word bubbles to show character thoughts and used different fonts for emphasis on important words. This is a great book for elementary students and the theme is fantasy. ( )

Summary: The book tells the story of a small boy in a town where there was no rain and all the water dried up. Jack found a bean and decided to plant it like the bean said to and say the magic words three times. The bean then grew and grew until jack found a huge house he jumped in the window the find a giant kid taking a bath with all the water. Once they drained the tub all the water went back to the town and Jack met the Princess and they went to fetch water for the bean.

Personal Reaction: I thought this was a great children's book. It tells a good short story that is easy for the kids to understand and it also leaves off at the end hinting there is a little more to the story which I think keeps the kids wanting more.

Classroom Extension: One thing you could do it to finish telling the kids the end of the story. Another thing you could do would be to teach and sing the Jack and Jill nursery song with the students. ( )

William Joyce is currently my favorite author of children's books. He writes with humor and joy at little things in life. This is the story of Jack...but first, it is the story of a smallish green bean - the last one "outta the pod". I LOVE it! One of the kids returned it today and I had to read it - I laughed out loud at the antics of Jack and..the Bean. Fabulous twisted tale! ( )

Bright, adorable illustrations and a charming, rhythmic narrative style make this twist on the Jack and the Beanstalk story a natural for storytime. This book is just begging to be read aloud to someone other than my cats, who are none too appreciative. Delightful. ( )

Good twist on Jack and the bean stalk, ending where Jack meets Jill (left to guess what happens, but obvious if you know Jack and Jill) ( )