#226 of 1001 · March 14, 2021

I recently conducted a delightful experiment: an entire week featuring a different picture book version of Cinderella each day. Since it was such an enjoyable experience, I’ve decided to do it again—this time with a different fairy tale. I’m very excited to announce the start of Jack and the Beanstalk Week! First up is this classic version by Kay Brown and Gerry Embleton. Brown’s writing crafts an engaging atmosphere befitting the action and suspense of the narrative. Embleton’s illustrations insert a number of appealing details, including an anthropomorphic hedgehog and a tiny insect farmer that lives in a mushroom. The giant house in the clouds bears a forbidding skull and crossbones on one of the towers and several ominous faces carved into the walls, rafters, and furniture. A note for folklore enthusiasts: Brown’s retelling preserves much of the linguistic flavor of Joseph Jacobs’ rendition of the story in English Fairy Tales, including the mysterious old man’s question, “How many beans make five?” (Jack’s snappy answer: “Two in each hand and one in your mouth.”) and the famous “Fee fi fo fum” rhyme. Small changes include the cow’s name (“Milky-White” has become “Buttercup”) and the species of the antagonist (the text initially refers to him as an ogre, as in Jacobs’ original, but thereafter calls him a giant, the term familiar to most modern readers). #jack #beanstalk #jackandthebeanstalk #giant #ogre #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcover #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks