Jane and the Beanstalk

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Pages: 50 Ratings: 5.0

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Think you know the story? Think again. Jane is nothing like Jack. She is bold, brave, polite, and definitely not a thief. Forget golden harps or chickens that lay golden eggs – this is a fresh twist on the tale.

When a giant beanstalk mysteriously appears in her back garden, Jane and her mother are faced with a dilemma. Should they chop it down, or should Jane climb to the top?

Get ready to laugh, be amazed, and be completely enthralled as Jane makes her choice and discovers what lies beyond the clouds in this quirky and humorous adventure.

Born in Australia but with dual nationality, Ruth spends her time split between her families in Tasmania, London and the North West of England. She has travelled extensively for both study and work. Her degree is in Modern Language studies, so is fluent in several languages.

Having worked as an educator in Brunei and Germany and East London, Ruth is now retired and continues with her writing. She lives with her son and is often out walking her dog.

Customer Reviews

5.0

1 reviews

Marcus

Jack and the Beanstalk is, of course, an iconic fairytale. Like all such fairytales, they are reinvented for new eras, and Ruth has chosen to reinvent the traditional rogue Jack as a girl who subverts the characteristics Jack is known for. She has changed the traditional medieval setting of the story, and it now takes place in a more modern, urban era. Ruth’s wry commentary on why older fairy tales have faded away and are not told any more is encoded in the narrative of the story throughout. There is no giant, golden egg or goose at the top of this beanstalk. Ruth Parkinson has chosen to illustrate the story as it unfolds with numerous full colour pages which show Jane as a thoroughly modern young girl. The tale ends ambiguously, which suits the mood of the story and the idea that pat and easy answers are not always the ones that are useful or productive. Sometimes things just are what they are.