Author/illustrator Lorinda Bryan Cauley turns her attention to the traditional English fairy-tale of Jack and the Beanstalk in this retelling, and the result is a lovely picture book version of the classic story. The narrative here is faithful to the original, with young Jack selling his mother's cow for some magic beans, and ascending the beanstalk that grows from those beans into a land of giants in the sky. Here he successfully steals from a terrible man-eating giant three times—first a bag of gold, then a hen which lays golden eggs, and finally a magical harp—before defeating his enemy for good by chopping down the beanstalk, while the giant is descending in pursuit...

Published in 1983, Jack and the Beanstalk is the fourth book I have read from Cauley, following upon her The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, The Cock, the Mouse and the Little Red Hen, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears. She seems to have created quite a few folk and fairy-tale retellings, which is my primary interest in her work, although her body of picture books includes a number of more contemporary titles as well. In any case, I found this one quite engaging, enjoying both the story (despite finding Jack a bit of a scoundrel, as always) and the accompanying illustrations. The paintings here are done in oil, and are quite lovely. Recommended to young folk and fairy-tale lovers, and to anyone seeking good picture book presentations of this story. ( )