Jack and the Beanstalk (My First Storytime)

The book arrived in good time. I like the large picture book format, the construction of the story and the illustrations. It is a good introduction of a potentially scary fairy tale to a young child with effective nuances.

Superb gift for grandson

Great illustrations and easy to follow for my toddlers. The over simplification of the story makes me seriously question the values imparted on kids though. In this version of the story Jack steals from the giant, lives well off the stolen treasures and goes back to steal again when he runs out (not once but twice). I recall in the original story Jack had some rights to the treasures through his father who the giant had previously swindled. Without any reference to that, he's just a liar and a thief who would rather steal than get a job and exercises no fiscal responsibility.

The book targets 2-4 year olds. It was colorful and very true to the original! I wouldn't suggest these books for older than 5 or 6, might be too baby like. However, my three year old really liked it. Her favorite part is the hen who lays golden eggs. The book is large and has colorful pages. It's a great read.

I bought this book for my preschool unit on fairy tales. The book is great quality and the artwork is beautiful. What I had forgotten about this story is that Jack steals gold, the harp, and the hen from the giant. And in the end of this book he and his mom live happily ever after off of what he took (pretty much the message on the last page). I guess that's how the original story goes, but these days it would have been nice to find the story redone somehow so that Jack wasn't stealing. I'll still read it to my preschool class, but afterward I think we'll talk about what choices Jack could have made differently. For that reason, I'm giving it 3 stars. If you're o.k. with the story line, it's a beautiful book.