Margo's Musings: It's Not Jack and the Beanstalk!

When we walked into the Ashpot Library my little sister, Margo, was immediately drawn to the cover of It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk. I thought the cover looked great too. I'm a big fan of fairy tales (and not simply the Disney ones, but the real fairy tales), so I was excited to get reading.

This book is a twist on the traditional version of Jack and the Beanstalk that most people are familiar with, which is what makes it such a blast. While the reader is being told the story by the narrator, Jack comments with his thoughts on what is happening. Some of the classic elements are included, but the reader can expect a different ending. 

Margo loved this book because she thought it was funny. I totally agree! Jack’s comments made me laugh, and they put a hilarious spin on the story. Edwardian Taylor's bright illustrations really pop off the page. All of the colors and details give the reader a lot to look at, this was especially interesting when we read the book a second time.

The book even inspired us to do some planting. Although the ground is frozen, and we can’t grow anything outside right now, we did plant some bean seeds we bought at the store. They are on the windowsill in the kitchen, and Margo has made sure to use all kinds of magical phrases to help them grow. Of course, she used the spells from the book on our beans! While I don’t think we'll grow a magic beanstalk since they were regular seeds, it will be fascinating to see what happens. I'm guessing there will be more readings of this book in the future!

Has anyone else read It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk? Or have you read another book by Josh Funk? We’d love to hear your thoughts!
~ F