Jack and the Beanstalk by Steven Kellogg

Jack and the Beanstalk is an old children's classic, and one just about all of us have read many, many times.  But I'm not just reviewing the Jack and the Beanstalk story,  I want to review and recommend this specific version by Steven Kellogg.

My daughter found this book at the library  two weeks ago.  I checked it out for her without really looking at it, but after we got it home and I read it to them the first time, I realized what a treasure this particular book was.  The illustrations are what makes it so amazing, although the way the story is written is very appealing, too.

From the first page before the story even begins, you find a picture where the giant is stealing the bag of gold, the hen that lays the golden eggs and the singing harp from a shipload of pirates.  A "funny looking old man" is floating in a hot air balloon, watching it all happen.  The next page, the title page, shows the giant going up into the sky in a tornado, the "funny looking old man" watching still, while below, Jack and his cow, Milky White, watch the royal family on their horses.  Jack offers the princess some flowers, and the rest of that story will unfold as the book goes on.  Next, the "funny looking old man" begins to write the story, and the old familiar Jack and the Beanstalk story begins.  It's the "funny looking old man" that trades Jack the beans for his cow.

The illustrations in this book are just amazing, and each page is almost a story in itself.  The pictures of Jack's mother's emotions as she finds he has sold their cow - the only thing they own worth any money - for five beans are wonderful. I felt her pain as she sat on the front porch crying, as the beanstalk grew behind her, unawares.
The giant is warty and ugly, but didn't scare my four year old.  The giant's wife is also ugly, but tall, thin and wears lots of lipstick.  You see the grinder where the giant grinds the Englishman's bones to make his bread.  Watch the giant's palace catch on fire as he tries to catch Jack and upsets the candles on the table.

It's a fun, beautiful book.  We still enjoy pouring over the pictures trying to find things we missed.  Although our copy comes from the library, I will be buying this one for us to keep!