The Thief and the Beanstalk

I began reading this book to my kids, but soon my wife was coming in to listen too. Then I sent copies so my brother and sister could read it to their kids, and gave it to an English teacher and an adult friend. I guess you could say that I liked this book. I was always disturbed by the tail of Jack and the Beanstock, to which this tale is the sequel to. Fairy tales are usually morality tails where the hero is rewarded in the end and lives happily ever after. But Jack was not much of a hero. He was a fool, a wastrel and a bugler, yet where the traditional tale ends, Jack ends up wealthy and happy. What kind of story is that for children? (Spoiler Alert!!) In the continuation of the story Jack is an old man, wealthy, generous, and respected, but within, he was deeply troubled by knowledge of how he attained his wealth. A young thief appears in his home, and he sees much of himself in the boy, and a chance to resolve his own guilt. Rather than live with what he had done, he sends this young boy into profound danger, and risks disaster for everyone in an attempt to gain solace for his crime. But with this act we can see that for all his trapping of dignity and his wallowing in self-loathing, Jack remains self absorbed, irresponsible, and untransformed, even near the end of his lifetime. The story centers around Nick, a young orphan in a time of plague and famine taken into a gang of highwaymen and thieves as his only hope of survival. Yet this young thief does become a hero, and in him we see the development of character in the face of adversity that makes this a classic tale. While many other flawed characters in this book serve their own narrow self interests, Nick who has lived the most deprived life of any of these persons, inspires us with his choices. It is a well told and captivating story.

Can a thief save the world beneath his feet from a bone-crunching fate? The book The Thief and the Beanstalk is action packed. Also the author P.W. Catanese explains objects with astounding clarity. This book takes a wile to get started but most of the book has page-turning excitement.

I was asked to review a book for a book fair at school and handed the Thief and the Beanstalk. I kind of groaned when I looked at the length of it, but I needed a read aloud for my fifth grade class in May, so I figured go for it. I am so glad I did. Every day I would read the adventures of Nick and Jack and all the other characters and my kids LOVED it. When I would stop at the end of the chapter, groans could be heard. I was even asked by students in another class if they could come and listen to me read during sustained silent reading time! Now my students are great readers and tough on books, but they LOVED this book right from the get go. And so did I. Not only did they then buy every copy of the book at the book fair, their writing also became better. By listening to the words of P.W. Cantanese, I saw their writing improve by great use of vocabulary and imagery. If you're looking for book to read to your fourth-sixth graders at night time this summer or one for them to read on their own, check out this book. You'll be glad you did.

I bought this book for my kids, but I could not put it down!!!

Usually the novelizations of fairy tales for young readers focus on the princess tales, especially Cinderella. Those stories might not be as entertaining for the boys who also love fairy tales. P. W. Catanese now offers a children's novel using the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, a favorite tale of many children. The hero of this story is Nick, a poor orphan. Joining a band of thieves for his own survival, Nick ends up meeing Jack of Beanstalk fame. When he gets a chance to climb the famed beanstalk himself, Nick jumps at the opportunity, little knowing the new dangers that await him up above on the cloud island. He meets Gullinda, the giantess, and Gnasher, an even scarier giant than the one Jack defeated years ago. At first, Nick's dream is to become as rich as Jack. Later he only hopes to get back to his own world alive... Lots of action and suspense as well as thoughts about forgiveness make this a book to be enjoyed by fantasy and fairy tale fans alike.