#230 of 1001 · March 18, 2021

Continuing with my week of Jack and the Beanstalk posts, I’m excited to include this entertaining version with rigorous analytical underpinnings, written and illustrated by Albert Lorenz with collaborating artist Joy Schleh. In an Author’s Note, Lorenz details the process of his design for the book, in which he determined the height of the giant and then proportionally scaled up the castle and its contents. He follows this concept through to its logical conclusion, fully immersing the young hero in an environment designed for beings whose thimble he can use as a drinking cup. Both Lorenz’s text and art inject an impressive degree of engineering detail into Jack’s abscondence with the ill-gotten goods. The boy continually raids the giant woman’s sewing kit, from which kitchen string serves as rope, knitting needles as sturdy rods, buttons as both wheels for carts and and pulleys in a block and tackle. Lorenz also outlines his unconventional working relationship with Schleh, who consults with him on each project, contributing preliminary sketches and refining details throughout. The partnership here results in a remarkable degree of mathematical precision, best exemplified in the architectural spreads that present the gargantuan castle alternately in worm’s-eye, section, and plan perspective. #jack #beanstalk #jackandthebeanstalk #giant #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcover #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookillustrations #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks