Top critical review
2.0 out of 5 starsMy childhood hurts
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2017
When I was a kid, my dad would read Jack and the Beanstalk to my brother and me. He has a boomy voice and could Fee Fi Fo Fum like nobody's business. Well, I wanted to have that memory with my son, too, so I got him this book for Christmas.
The book itself is only O.K. The story line is the same as the old classic, but the dialog and narration fall flat. For instance, when Jack first climbs up the beanstalk, the narration is as follows:
"Without waking his mother, Jack started climbing the beanstalk. His arms and legs began to ache, but he forgot about them when he saw the castle."
Then he knocks. There is no sense of awe or adventure. The passage sounds more like an afternoon stroll to the neighbor's house.
Also, each time after the first that the male giant enters the scene, his "Fee Fi Fo Fum" line gets shorter. The second time, it ends before "Be he alive," and the third time, his wife cuts him off with, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." For me, that ruined the immersion in a fantastical world, and left me disappointed.
This is Jack, but it's not the rich, immersive Jack from your childhood. You would be wise to find a better version.
