This is the third fun instalment in Lou Carter’s clever series that turns familiar fairy tales on their heads. Following There Is No Dragon in This Story and There Is No Big Bad Wolf in This Story, Carter now gives Jack and the Beanstalk an unexpected twist.
In this version, Jack has already chopped down the beanstalk – after all, the giant ‘got stroppy when a boy kept nicking his stuff’. But this giant isn’t content to stay up in his castle. Giants never do as they’re told! It’s much more fun down below, where he can ‘tramply-stomp on stuff with my huge feets’.
So off he goes to town … causing chaos across the fairytale world. The Three Little Pigs, Pinocchio, Little Red Riding Hood and others look on in horror as the giant stomps through their stories. ‘Everyone up the beanstalk! cries the Gingerbread Man.
The giant suddenly finds himself alone. Surely everyone’s just playing hide-and-seek? He searches here, there, and everywhere – but they’ve all vanished. At the bottom of the beanstalk, a dragon gently points out the truth: the giant scared them all away. Maybe if he were a little gentler, they wouldn’t be so afraid …
But being gentle isn’t easy when you’re a giant. Tippy-toeing and being careful aren’t exactly a giant’s strengths, especially when swinging on a beanstalk! The beanstalk wobbles and shakes – can the fairytale characters get down safely? Can the giant learn how to make friends and not feel so lonely?
Deborah Allwright’s vibrant illustrations are bursting with colour, energy and humour, capturing the joyful chaos of the story. This is a funny, warm-hearted book that playfully turns traditional tales upside down – and will leave young readers smiling.
Reviewed by Emily Ross
Age Guide 5+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lou Carter worked as a primary school teacher before turning her hand to writing picture books. She is the author of the bestselling There Is No Dragon in This Story, and There Is No Big Bad Wolf in This Story.
She lives in Cambridge.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
My fascination with drawing and story-making began the moment I could hold a pen. It involved long things from the beginning. In the early days, there was no proper desk or table, only an old ironing board to draw on, and I was only given long thin strips of paper, so my first love was drawing long thin animals such as giraffes, snakes and crocodiles.
Every book is a new adventure and I try to bring something different to the visual storytelling. Working in acrylic, inks and collage was my preferred method for books like The Night Pirates where I’d spend hours building up textures by paint- rollering, stencilling and sticking of layered papers. But later I embraced working on my computer screen and now the long hours are working digitally.
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