by William Joyce (Author) Kenny Callicutt (Illustrator)
When a king's pinky grows stinky, it is up to a smallish boy and a smallish pea to come up with a GIANT plan to save the kingdom--a fractured fairy tale from William Joyce and Moonbot Studios, the masterminds who brought you The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.
You might think you know the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, but you might want to think again. In this fairy tale with a twist, it hasn't rained in days and the king has dictated that something must be done--his royal pinky is getting stinky!
With a little magic from a wizard, young Jack, paired with his pea pod pal, will find a GIANT reason as to why there's no water left in the kingdom...and prove that size doesn't prevent anyone from doing something BIG.
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Joyce (The Numberlys) dispenses with the scarier parts of Jack and the Beanstalk (no "Fee fi fo fum" here), stringing old and new elements together with chatty narration and dialogue. In this version, there's a drought in the kingdom where Jack lives, a special problem for the royal court: "The king's royal pinky had become stinky." Joyce and newcomer Callicutt give their cast rounded heads that make them resemble Playmobil figures, including the bearded wizard whose ultralong beard deposits a talking bean in Jack's hand. "Hey, I'm a smallish magic bean," the bean says. "Hey, I'm a smallish regular kid," says Jack. The beanstalk leads to a "smallish giant kid named Don" whose overlong bath is responsible for the drought ("So Don..." "Yeah, Jack?" "Been in the tub long?"). Fast pacing and fresh visuals provide continuous laughs and entertainment as Joyce and Callicut drive home a lighthearted message that smallish kids (and beans) can bring about big change. As a bonus, the ending suggests that additional fairy-tale reimaginings could be in store--here's hoping. Ages 3-6. Agent: Michael Siegel, Michael Siegel & Associates. (Oct.)
Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.PreS-Gr 3--The latest addition to Joyce's series has a more tenuous connection to childhood legends than previous titles. Whether intended as a riff on "Jack and the Beanstalk" or as an entirely other creation, the book fails to amuse or engage. There are obvious connections to the folktale. There's a boy named Jack; a bean (which looks like a pea); a magical, prodigiously growing beanstalk; and a journey to a land of giants. There are also many elements not to be found in the old story: a king named King Blah Blah Blah and a princess named Princess Blah Blah Blah (just in case it's funnier the second time around). The king has a stinky pinky, and the giant whom Jack eventually encounters also has a stinky pinky (in case that's funnier the second time around). There's a redheaded bird with a black body who happens to be in every illustration for no discernible reason. These additions pad the book's length but don't add much substance to the narrative. The artwork--a collaboration between Joyce and newcomer Callicutt--is far superior to the text, particularly on the spreads. Expansive skies, strewn with mysterious cloud formations and the explosively burgeoning beanstalk have enough energy to spill off the pages. That's especially appropriate for a work that might actually be more successful as an interactive ebook.--Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Library, NY
Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.