Damyanti & Bryn, aged 4 

Jack and the Baked Beanstalk by Colin Stimpson – review

Damyanti & Bryn: 'Bryn was tickled by the nice giant but would have preferred him to be eating people and grinding bones to make his bread'
  
  


There was plenty of laughter while reading this modern retelling of a classic fairytale, "'a beanstalk with cans of baked beans!,' how funny", said Bryn.

The story starts with Jack and his mum running a successful burger van, but their fortunes are reversed when a new flyover diverts their customers. As in the traditional tale Jack is entrusted with their "last few pennies". With a self-referring nod to the story Jack knows choosing the "magic baked beans" will lead to adventure. Like all good fairy tales this has a happy ending but with a few twists and turns on the journey down the beanstalk.

Bryn was very tickled by the nice giant with a love of cooking although he would have preferred him to be "eating people and grinding bones to make his bread". He also liked the illustrations, especially the giants smart attire.

I felt the luxurious style of illustration and multi-layered story gave this book a cinematic quality. The drawings also captured the scale of the story and my favourite spread was of the giant & Jack sharing a large plate of food.

A fun rich read with both style and substance.

 

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