From the cinematic cast of characters’ introduction, we know that this Jack is not quite the gormless idiot often portrayed. In this exciting retelling, with its almost Gothic colour palette and clever use of dramatic full page spreads amidst the more usual comic strip panels, Jack is a bold adventurer capable of persuading the giant’s wife to feed and protect him while stealing a sack of gold as he escapes. So bold in fact that he ventures back two more times to avenge the loss of his father and the family tereasure. As we learn from the bonus material at the end of the book there are indeed many versions of this traditional tale and the glossary, discussion questions and writing prompts will prove very useful in upper Key Stage 2 when children return to looking at myths legends and traditional tales. This is an engaging version aimed squarely at older readers and with its spare and accessible text it will appeal to even the most reluctant of them
When Jack sells his family's cow for magic beans, his mother is anything but pleased. Soon, however, the beans sprout into a towering beanstalk. It leads to a castle filled with gold and other treasures. Jack's family will be rich, if he can sneak past the man-eating giant!
Blake A. Hoena grew up in central Wisconsin, where, in his youth, he wrote stories about robots conquering the Moon and trolls lumbering around in the woods behind his parent's house - and the fact that the trolls were hunting for little boys had nothing to do with Blake's pesky younger brothers. Later, he moved to Minnesota to pursue a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Since graduating, Blake has written more than forty books for children, including retellings of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the Perseus and Medusa myth. Most recently, he's working on graphic novels for Sports Illustrated Kids and writing stories about superheroes. Ricardo Tercio is a freelance illustrator from Lisbon, Portugal. He co-founded a production company and has made animation and videos for some of the top Portuguese musicians. Tercio also illustrated for large companies such as Hasbro toys. In 2007, he illustrated his first comic, Spider-Man Fairy Tales #1, for Marvel.
