Jack: The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk

Hello, and welcome to another episode of "Listen to Me Talk About how Awesome Liesl Shurtliff is."

Seriously, have you guys read any of these Liesl Shurtliff books yet? If not, what's wrong with you? Just kidding, we can still be friends.

I don't know if you've noticed yet, but I'm a big fan of fairy tales and the retelling thereof. Sometimes it works out great. Sometimes not so great. But all of these books by Liesl Shurtliff fit into the great category. I love seeing how she's re-imagined these stories in a way I haven't seen before. She has good, solid writing that makes this world easy to delve into and imagine. They're fun, touching, adventurous, and there's always something I feel that I take away from the book. Plus, I enjoy how her books have all been connected by the same universe.

Basically, if you are a fan of fairy tales and their retold versions, you must pick up Shurtliff's books!

Title: Jack: The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk
Rating: 5/5
Author: Liesl Shurtliff
Pages: 294
Genre: Children's/Fantasy/Fairy Tale

Synopsis:

You know the story--a young lad, giants, and a beanstalk leading up to the sky. Need I say more?

Well, perhaps the story you always knew to be true isn't exactly the truth. Maybe not all giants are bad. Maybe they don't really want to grind our bones to make their bread. They do, however, come down and steal all the crops and villagers...but maybe there's a reason for that, and maybe there's just one lad who can figure it out and save the day.

Jack has always longed for greater adventure than his simple farm life can give him, and he gets the perfect opportunity when the giants appear and raid his village, kidnapping his father in the process.

Can Jack save his father before it's too late?

My Reaction:

In case you didn't get enough of my reaction above, let me restate that this is a great book! I will admit that I like Rump and Red slightly more, but it still earned a 5/5. Like I said, it's adventurous and fun, and I love the messages that some things are worth more than wealth and that we are capable of accomplishing great things even when it seems like we can't.

Reader's Guidance:

Jack gets into a fist fight with another boy. That's about as violent as it gets. I didn't find anything concerning.

Similar Books:

Liesl Shurtliff's newest book Grump: A (Fairly) True Tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs comes out next month! I'm pretty sure it's going to be another winner. Pre-order it here.

Next Book: 

When I was at the library to pick up Jack, I happened to turn Because of Winn Dixie or The Tale of Desperaux. It's been a while since I've read one of her books, and there are some I haven't had the chance to read yet. That means that next up is her book Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures. From what I can gather so far, it's about a girl, who is a natural born cynic, and a very extraordinary squirrel, who also happened to get sucked up by a vacuum... Don't worry! He lives!
around, and on the opposite shelf I spotted one of my favorite children's authors, Kate DiCamillo. You may know her as the writer of

Pick up a copy and read along! See you  next time!