6th January Bean Day (Part 3)

Now for having fun with Jack and the Beanstalk. When I survey my four kindergarten classes to see which fairytales they know, unlike many others, they do know this story. When questioned further they know there is  a giant, magic beans and a beanstalk. A few children will know Fee Fi Fo Fum, but not many. So they are very happy to read and compare versions and then look at 'corrupted' modern retellings. If you know the original well then it is easy to laugh at the spoofs. Many of the spoofs are in small chapter book format too, so they are ideal for my budding readers.

I love Raymond Brigg's Jim and the Beanstalk. Mary Pope Osborne has swapped Jack for Kate in Kate and the Beanstalk. Who can resist a book with the title Jack and the Baked Beanstalk? It has a modern twist where the beans come in a can, but still Jack's mother throws the can out the window in disgust. Jack  by Liesl Shurtliff is a novel length 'true story of Jack and the Beanstalk' which takes the concept of fractured fairytale to its full extent and makes a good serial. It's Not About the Beanstalk by David Parkin is a short chapter book which is part of a series about three friends who explore fairytales from around the world. Collect together all the versions of the beanstalk story you can find and have some fun!