Fearsome Giant, Fearless Child

February 25, 2019
This collaboration offers a kaleidoscopic presentation of the traditional boy and giant story by collaging text fragments from different cultures’ tellings. Each story fragment is boxed and framed by color-saturated illustrated backgrounds evoking the text’s origin country, which is also spelled out in a subtly incorporated title card. The format evokes the sense of an eager chorus, with voices from Ethiopia, Gambia, Greece, Japan, the Philippines, and elsewhere jostles in a folkloric cacophony that offers conflicting details. A boy who is “the youngest of twelve. The youngest of thirteen” must steal or find something: a golden harp, a prize bull, a wish-granting jewel, a thousand pearls. These shifting elements alchemically coalesce into a sturdy plot in which the littlest and least-regarded triumphs. Ages 4–8.

April 1, 2019

Gr 1-4-In this compelling companion to Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal, Fleischman and Paschkis retell the "Jack and the Beanstalk" story by piecing together various versions from around the globe. Snippets from stories featuring fearsome giants and fearless children from Italy, Japan, Denmark, Ethiopia, France, Indonesia, Chile, England, Gambia, Greece, Germany, Mongolia, Russia, Norway, the Philippines, and the United States, are seamlessly woven together for a unique and riveting version of this timeless fairy tale. Beginning with a king and his scorned son and continuing with the abandonment and clever deliverance of the young protagonist, the story is brimming with tension and adventure. The contrast of the various interpretations is fascinating, and the curiosity it stirs up keeps the story moving at a rapid and intriguing pace. The book is respectful of a child's ability to handle the good and the bad elements of the plot and is not neutralized for the very young. Each framed illustration is surrounded by elaborate and colorful border art depicting dragons, giants, and other terrifying creatures. The colors are earthy and deep and the paintings angular and bold. VERDICT An excellent addition to storytelling and fairy-tale collections.-Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2019
This latest in the Worldwide Stories series is a culturally eclectic remix of the "Jack and the Beanstalk" tale from the pair who looked at Creation tales in First Light, First Life (2016) and the Cinderella story in Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal (2007).This confusing, composite variant scarcely resembles the "Jack and the Beanstalk" rendering that most North American readers might know. The author draws on the stories of 16 different countries from Indonesia to Gambia, the United States to Mongolia, interweaving them into one narrative that will require multiple reads to interpret. With monsters that include an ogre, witches, the devil, and a giant, readers will wonder where the familiar pieces of the story are. Those acquainted with the variant arguably best known in North America will recognize "Fee, fi, fo, fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman" but little else. For example, there are no magic beans in this retelling. Where the narrative lacks cohesion, the unifying thread is left up to the illustrator. Paschkis' comely folk-art-style gouache paintings recall the tapestries and textiles of the various countries represented in the story, and readers will be able to discern the main character in each illustration. It's a shame that more extensive notes than the pointer to SurLaLune Fairy Tales and Margaret Read MacDonald's Tom Thumb (1993) are not offered for those curious readers who would wish to further pursue the divergent iterations presented here.A clever but disjointed take, with no Jack and no beanstalk. (Picture book/folktale. 5-8)

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March 15, 2019
Preschool-G From the team that produced Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal (2007), a worldwide view of Cinderella stories, and First Light, First Life (2016), on creation tales, comes this look at Jack and the Beanstalk though a cross-cultural lens, which deserves a home on all library shelves. Like its predecessors, this picture book mixes up versions of the folktale from different cultures to tell one seamless story, revealing areas of difference and correspondence. Familiarity with the English tale of an ogre who chants "Fee, fie, foe, fum," prevalent in North America, will help children appreciate how other cultures champion the story of a slight child facing fearsome odds?whether they be a giant, a witch, or a man-eater. Confidence and hope for the underdog tie things together, as does Fleischman's simple, rollicking narration, presented as a tale the imagined listener finds scary but nevertheless begs to hear. Paschkis uses folkloric frames to colorfully contextualize the central action, featuring children from Chile and Italy, Ethiopia and the Philippines. Here's hoping this duo has even more universal tales to come.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)