Different versions of jack and the beanstalk
15 Different Versions of Jack and the Beanstalk Fairy Tale
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This collection of different versions of Jack and the Beanstalk are great for comparing and contrasting story elements and cultures.
Each version of Jack and the Beanstalk featured below is different. Many versions come from various cultures while others are told from different points of view. Still others offer a funny spin on the classic fairy tale.
All are perfect for comparing and contrasting story elements, points of view, and more.
Below, I’ve featured just a handful of different versions of Jack and the Beanstalk. You should be able to find them at your local library or bookstore.
If you can’t find them locally, you can click each image cover to purchase them on Amazon.
Jack and the Beanstalk – An adaptation of the well-loved fairy tale follows the ambitious Jack as he scales the beanstalk and hears a giant thunder, a hen lay golden eggs, and three other magical sounds.
Jack and the Beanstalk – This Little Classics adaptation allows little ones to discover the wonderful characters of Jack and the Beanstalk in the hopes of encouraging a lifetime love of reading.
Jack and the Beanstalk – When Jack is sent to market to sell his family’s cow, he makes a trade for some magical beans, much to his mother’s chagrin. To Jack’s surprise, the beans grow into a giant beanstalk. Jack climbs all the way up and encounters a frightening giant. But when the giant is fast asleep, Jack climbs up and steals his treasures.
It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk – Jack is not fond of the bossy narrator of his fairy tale! When Jack is told to trade his beloved cow Bessie for some magic beans, throw the beans out the window, climb the ENORMOUS beanstalk that sprouts overnight, and steal from a GIANT, he decides this fairy tale is getting out of control
Jack and the Beanstalk and the French Fries – FEE FI FO FUM!When Jack trades the family cow for a handful of magic beans, he gets more beans than he ever expected or wanted.
It’s bean porridge for breakfast! Bean salad for lunch! Bean chowder for dinner! It doesn’t take long before Jack is tired of eating nothing but beans–no matter how nutritious! But just as he’s about to chop down his magic beanstalk, he meets a grumpy giant, who is just as sick and tired of beans as he is.
Trust Me, Jack’s Beanstalk Stinks! – OF COURSE you think I was the bad guy, terrifying poor little Jack. You don’t know the other side of the story. Well, let me tell you…
Jack and the Beanstalk – Join young Jack as he climbs a giant beanstalk to a magic castle in the clouds. Meet a hen that lays golden eggs and a harp that sings by itself. And don’t forget the ogre…
Jack and the Beanstalk – The engaging classic story is designed to appeal to the young child, with appropriate vocabulary for those learning to read. The large format is perfect for show-and-tell reading.
Jack and the Beanstalk – When Jack and his mother fall on hard times, they decide to sell their only cow.
But Jack’s mother is not impressed when her son comes home with a handful of magic beans. The beans go straight out of the window . . . where they grow into an enormous beanstalk!
Mickey and the Beanstalk – A classic Disney Little Golden Book, starring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy, in their own version of the fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk.
Move on Up That Beanstalk, Jack! – When times are tough, you pull yourself up and push yourself to the top … of a beanstalk … where you might get schooled in forces and motion by a STEM-loving giant named Dennis.
Jack’s Giant Problem – Jack narrowly escapes from the giant’s castle with a magic harp, leaving a trail of chaos behind him. Not content with his treasure, Jack returns for more…but will he be so lucky a second time?
Little Critter Jack and the Beanstalk – Mercer Mayer’s great wit, animated illustrations, and cleverly created flaps—lift them to see the magic beans in the bag and the giant beanstalk outside Jack’s window—enliven this beloved tale as never before.
Jim and the Beanstalk– After discovering a beanstalk growing outside of his window one morning, Jim decides to do what any person in a similar situation would do—he climbs it. At the top he finds the unexpected: a castle and a giant in need of a friend.
Hagop and the Hairy Giant – Hagop and the Hairy Giant takes place in Masis, Armenia, where our hero Hagop scales a magic noorr (pomegranate) tree to rescue the lovely Maryam, a prisoner of Medz Mazod, the hairy giant. But before he saves the girl, Hagop must first go head-to-head with Medz Mazod, battling him with a kebab shish, leading to other adventures with the giant’s magic oud (Armenian guitar) and golden hav (hen).
Round Out Your Unit with These Activities:
If your little ones enjoyed the Mickey Mouse version of this story, they’ll love this Beanstalk Mickey figurine.
These Jack and the Beanstalk Magicube blocks and figures allow kids to build different scenes from the story over and over again.
Jack and the Beanstalk story spoons help children develop speech and language skills while practicing sequencing and story recall.
Related Posts
5 Versions to Share with Kids
FIND ALL OF OUR JACK AND THE BEANSTALK ACTIVITIES IN OUR PRINTABLE LESSON PLANS.
For the letter J we decided to learn about Jack and the Beanstalk. We had a lot of fun reading and comparing different versions of this story. We also extended the story by doing some reading and math activities.
Here’s a quick glimpse at how we used on of our Jack and the Beanstalk free printables for math.
There are so many versions of Jack and the Beanstalk out there, and if you ask me, some of them are a bit scary for little ones. I thought I would share the versions that we read together.
I should share that Lovey is an extremely cautious child who startles easily and doesn’t forget anything, just ask the poor kid who jumped out of the bushes to surprise her on Halloween! Because of this I am very selective about the books I share with her.
We try not to include too many dark or scary pictures, and many versions of Jack and the Beanstalk were excluded for this reason. If there are phrases or language in a book that I don’t think will sit well with her (or phrases I don’t want her to repeat to me one day!), then I will use some creative license and change them up a bit.
To introduce Jack and the Beanstalk to preschoolers, I would recommend a very simple, short version. This will be the foundation that they use to practice retelling activities and compare to other versions.
Short Story about Jack and the Beanstalk
First Readers: Jack and the Beanstalk by Gaby Goldsack
I really like this one. It is very simple with illustrations that aren’t too frightening. Unfortunately, I borrowed it from a friend, and I don’t see one available on Amazon to show you a link. I think it is one she picked up from Michael’s. They have some great books at good prices, and she finds quite a few there.
Jack and the Beanstalk by Richard Walker
Funny Story about Jack and the Beanstalk
Similar to the traditional story, but includes a few twists that add a bit of humor and a little less suspense. In the end, the giant is catapulted into space where he remains. This was a fun change that the kids quickly contrasted to the original story.
Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne
Different Version of Jack and the Beanstalk
I almost didn’t read this version to the kids. It seemed a bit too long for preschoolers, and there were some parts that I didn’t want to read to them. But every time we retold the traditional story, the kids commented about how wrong it was for Jack to steal from the giant. Besides having a girl hero in this story, there is one other important twist. We learn that Kate is helping her mother by taking back the items the giant had stolen from her long ago.
Waynetta and the Cornstalk by Helen Ketteman
Family Fun Reading for Jack and the Beanstalk
Before reading we compared the settings of the stories, and discussed what the kids knew about living on a ranch.
We also found Texas on the map. Magic beans and a beanstalk are replaced with magic corn and a large cornstalk, and at the top Waynetta finds a giant ranch instead of a castle. At the end the kids loved that the giant and his wife lived on the ranch with Waynetta and her ma. There were a couple of phrases that I chose to replace in this story, because I didn’t want to hear “cowgirl brat” in our pretend play this week. But overall, I think it was a great addition to our Jack and the Beanstalk week.
Paco and the Giant Chile Plant by Keith Polette
Suprise Ending for Jack and the Beanstalk
This book gave us another great opportunity to discuss and compare the setting of the stories. Here magic beans and a beantalk are replaced by chile seeds and a giant chile plant. In this version, the giant is brought to tears after getting chile juice in his eyes, and everyone was surprised by what happened next. The giant shrinks back to his normal size, and Paco realizes it’s his own Papa!
Jack and the Baked Beanstalk by Colin Stimpson
Classic Jack and the Beanstalk Story
Your kids will love reading this classic story about Jack and the Baked Bean Stalk!
It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk by Josh Funk
Hiliarous Version of Jack and the Beanstalk
This retelling of the classic fairytale It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk adds a fun and hilarious take on the story Jack and the Beanstalk.
Jack and the Beanstalk and the French Fries by Mark Teague
Jack and the Beanstalk and the French Fries adds a delicious twist to the classic story of Jack and the Beanstalk. If you’re a fan of folk stories and famous fairy tales, you can’t go wrong reading any of these books.
The little kids will enjoy the pictures and words and it’s always fun to read story books together. It’s fun to immerse yourself in a fairytale so that the fairy stories and famous tales can come to life. As the kids grow up, they’ll have fond memories of reading traditional tales and even Grimm fairy tales that they may carry on the reading tradition to their own kids.
Story books are also fun because they’re full of giants and myths and legents that make every page anything but a snore!
What versions of Jack and the Beanstalk are your favorite? I would love to have some more ideas for the next time we do Jack and the Beanstalk activities.
GET A FULL WEEK OF JACK & THE BEANSTALK THEME LEARNING AND PLAYSave time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets.
Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, and we’ve provided different versions for home preschool families and classroom teachers so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.
This set includes active hands-on learning ideas and the following printables:
1) My Beanstalk science activity
2) Jack and the Beanstalk Shape Building Mats (in color and b/w)
3) Climb the Beanstalk Alphabet Game (4 versions in color and b/w)
4) The Giant’s Gold class book covers (in color and b/w) and page template
5) Hen and Eggs Beginning Sound Sort
6) Jack and the Beanstalk vocabulary cards (in color and b/w)
7) I Found Magic Beans counting activity and recording sheet (in color and b/w)
8) Climbing the Beanstalk counting and number sequencing activity
9) Shake, Drop, Add Math Game with game mat (in color and b/w) and recording sheet
GET YOUR LESSON PLANSAll of our products are also available on Teachers Pay Teachers
The best way to encourage a love of reading is to provide kids with many opportunities to engage with a wide variety of books that are of interest to them.
That’s why we share so many books lists on Fantastic Fun and Learning. We want to make it easy for you to find great books your kids will love. Over the years we’ve also discovered some helpful tools for connecting kids and books.
Digital libraries are one very handy way to do this. Epic! is one of our favorite online libraries. It’s full of over 25,000 books, learning videos, quizzes and more for kids 12 and under…and it’s free for educators. Click here to learn more and sign up.
Book Boxes are another fun way to get kids excited about reading. What kid doesn’t love to get a special delivery in the mail?! The crew over at Bookroo finds the best little known books that you won’t already have in your library, and they send them to you each month. Take a peak inside a Bookroo Box here.
Book-Based Activities are also a lot of fun for kids. Jodie over at Growing Book by Book has saved us all a ton of time and created a full year of Book-Based Activity Calendars so that you can extend the fun with a special book each week.
Jack and beans. English Folk Tale - "An English tale of nimbleness and that "fools are lucky""
I liked the fairy tale "Jack and the beanstalk" since childhood. I had a book with beautiful illustrations, I liked to look at them.
It was so unusual. Beanstalk, stalk growing straight up into the sky, giants and so on.
I re-read it with pleasure, and perhaps it even served as the reason that I began to eat beans. Not that I loved them, but at least I have always been loyal to them, and this very fairy tale has influenced this.
Jack and the Beanstalk - English Folk Tale
In culture: there are several adaptations of different times and even an anime cartoon. Moreover, the plot is interpreted in different ways. The canonical "Jack beans" and where he is presented as a villain.
Number of pages:
a small fairy tale.
About 10 pages. That's why it's a fast read. It takes me about 7 minutes to read, although if you read it aloud, of course, it takes a little longer.
Where the events take place:
this is a fictional world. Countryside and house, next to the field. Then events will shift to the sky, where Jeev climbed up the beanstalk.
Main characters:
- Jack is the main character of the tale who seems too stupid and naive. But this did not prevent him from showing cunning and deceiving the Giant. That is, to sell the last cattle for 5 grains, he did not realize what was wrong. But I guessed to steal a bag of gold ... I still agree with the interpretation and in my opinion Jack is not as good as it seems and personally I perceive him more as a negative character;
- Jack's mother - Jack's mother is raising a child in poverty. For the fact that he blundered scolds him and leaves him without dinner.
But there is a connection between them and her son, and she unconditionally loves him in her own way. Jack, having become rich, immediately returns to her, and she helps get rid of the beanstalk; - The giant is a formidable inhabitant of the clouds. In addition to being a giant, he is also a cannibal He smells the smell of human flesh. He is engaged in robbery and robbery, robs other people, from this he has untold wealth in his house;
- The giant's wife is also a giantess. But unlike her husband, she is much kinder. She takes Jack into the house and hides him so that the Giant does not find him. Jack deceived her, but she still saved him a second time, and only then, unable to bear such a betrayal on his part, she tried to get rid of him. For which, by the way, I do not blame her.
Plot:
Jack's family lived in poverty and in order to feed themselves a little, Jack's mother sends him to the market to sell cattle.
I've always wondered why poverty flourished in fairy tales. Probably because such tales were passed from mouth to mouth, primarily among the common people. And stories about poor people who tried their luck and became rich always inspired and gave hope for the best.
Jack, going to the market, met a stranger who offered to exchange the cattle for some beans. Well, since our main character was of a small mind, he immediately agreed. In general, suppose how the stranger could know how events would develop. He could not germinate them, well, or he would have simply been eaten by the Ogre. This desire to cash in on the mentally retarded is simply disgusting.
Jack's mother was furious when she heard about this unequal deal. Scolded, rushed at him and even completely left him without dinner.
At the speed of light, magic beans, thrown out of the window by mom, sprouted. And a huge thick stalk rushed straight into the sky. Praise chance and luck)
Je climbed up there and saw a house there.
The giantess' wife let him in. And then she showed her kindness and indifference. For the sake of a stranger, she deceived her husband and hid the boy, but in return the boy scammed them all and stole a bag of gold. At this point, I began to like Jack even less..
He returned home with wealth, they did not grieve, but when the money ran out, he went back to the giant.
Impressions:
It seems to me that the moral of this tale is that the poor will surely achieve prosperity. That if you are persecuted and unhappy, then you will certainly achieve prosperity. In my opinion, this is wrong, because a fairy tale teaches us to hope for good luck. After all, not the mother, not Jack himself, did nothing for his happiness, but on the contrary achieved this by fraudulent means.
But if we consider that Jack is still a villain.
That fairy tale teaches not to trust strangers. because it may be "a wolf in sheep's clothing.
" The giantess helped Jack, and for this he deceived her husband, which means he robbed her too.
And even the second time, his conscience didn't waver. The thirst for easy pressure and well-being in an easy way turned out to be stronger, and he once again returned to the house of the Giants to steal his belongings. And someone can say, but the Vedas and the Giant robbed. Yes, but Jay was not a Robin Hood, but he stole for himself so as not to work. Stealing from a thief is not an excuse, but the same crime. Hearing this tale, the child may draw the wrong conclusions. For example, what can be deceived for the sake of money. But this is extremely wrong, it would be better if he was taught to earn by honest work.
I don't understand why so many people see Jack as good, while giants are seen as villains. Everything is ambiguous here. And Jack's goodness is puzzling to me.
+ and -:
+ interesting story;
+ plot;
- ambiguous morality.
Often the wrong conclusions are drawn from it.
Conclusion:
the fairy tale is interesting and instructive. Although not as straightforward as it seems at first glance. I advise you to pay attention and read it, I am sure that you will also be visited by interesting thoughts.
Jack and the Beanstalk, English folk tale
Once upon a time there was a poor widow who had her only son, Jack, and a cow named White. The cow gave milk, and the mother sold it at the market - from this they lived. But one day Belyanka stopped giving milk. - How are we going to live on? - Mother lamented every minute. - I'll try to find some work, - said Jack. - Yes, you already tried, but no one takes you, - mother answered angrily. - No, we'll probably have to sell our cow and open a shop with this money. - Well, so be it, - Jack agreed. - Today is just a market day, and I will quickly sell Belyanka.
Jack took the reins and led the cow to the market.
But I did not have time to go half way, as I met a wonderful old man.
- Good morning, Jack! - the old man said hello. - Good morning to you too! - answered Jack, and thought to himself: "How does the old man know my name?". - Where are you going? - the old man asked Jack. - To the market, to sell a cow. - Looks like you're only good for this! the old man laughed. - Tell me, how many beans do you need to make five? - Exactly two in each hand and one in your mouth! - answered Jack. - Guessed! - exclaimed the old man. - Look, here they are the same beans! - and the old man pulled out a handful of some unusual beans from his pocket. - Let's change with you - you have beans, I have a cow! - Pass by! - Jack was angry. - Yes, you don’t know what kind of beans, - said the old man. - Plant them in the evening, and by morning they will grow to the very sky. - Really?! - surprised Jack. - So it will be! And if not, take your cow back. - Okay! - Jack agreed: he gave the old man a cow, and put the beans in his pocket.
Jack turned back and trudged home. - Finally, you're back, Jack! - the mother was delighted when she saw her son. - I see that the cow is not with you, so you sold it. How much did they pay you for it? - You'll never guess! Jack answered. - Look at these beans? They are magical. If you plant them in the evening, then ... - How ?! cried Jack's mother. - You gave my beloved Belyanka for a handful of some beans? Why is God punishing me? Give me those beans! - With these words, the mother grabbed the beans and threw them out the window. - Go to sleep! You won't get dinner tonight! Jack went upstairs to his little room and went to bed without having dinner. Soon he fell asleep.
The next morning, when Jack woke up and went to the window, he saw that the beans that his mother had thrown out of the window into the garden that evening had sprouted. The huge stalk stretched and stretched up until it had grown to the very clouds. So, the old man told the truth, and these beans are actually magical!
The beanstalk grew right next to the window.
Jack opened it, jumped onto the stalk and climbed up like a tightrope. And he kept climbing, climbing, climbing, climbing until he reached the very sky. There he saw a long and wide road. Jack stepped onto this road and followed it. He walked for a long time and came to a high, high house. And at the threshold of this house stood a tall, tall woman.
Jack greeted her very politely, and then added: - Be so kind as to give me something to eat, please! After all, Jack went to bed without supper and was now very hungry. - Did you want to eat? asked the tall, tall woman. - Get out of here as soon as possible if you don't want to be eaten yourself! My husband is a cannibal, and his favorite dish is boys roasted on a spit. Get out while you're safe, otherwise he'll be back home soon. - Ma'am, please give me something to eat! - continued to repeat his Jack. - I haven't had a piece in my mouth since yesterday morning, and I'm so hungry that I don't care if they fry me or I'll die of hunger.
The ogre's wife was actually a kind woman. She took Jack to the kitchen and gave him bread and cheese and milk. But before Jack had time to eat a piece, when suddenly the whole house shook from someone's steps. - Oh, God! It's my husband back! gasped the tall, tall woman. - Come on, get in here as soon as possible! And as soon as she managed to push Jack into the oven, the ogre himself entered. It was so huge that it seemed as if a whole mountain had fallen into the house.
Three calves hung from his belt. The cannibal untied them, gave them to his wife and said: - Come on, fry this for me for breakfast! - Then he sniffed the air and asked: - What does it smell like here? - Does it smell like something here? - the ogre's wife was surprised. - You have misunderstood it. It probably still smells like the boy I made you for dinner yesterday. Better go and wash and change, and in the meantime I'll take care of your breakfast. The ogre left the room. Jack wanted to get out of the oven and run away, but the ogre's wife stopped him.
- Don't stick your head out, otherwise he can replace you, - she said. - After breakfast my husband usually goes to rest. When he falls asleep, you can leave. The ogre ate, then went to a huge chest, took out two bags of gold from it and sat down at the table to count the money. Finally, sleep overcame him, the ogre began to snore, so much so that the whole house shuddered.
Jack slowly got out of the oven, approached silently to the ogre, grabbed one bag of gold and rushed headlong to the beanstalk. He threw the bag down, and he began to go down the stem. He was in a hurry, afraid that the cannibal would not wake up. Finally, Jack was at his house. He told his mother everything that had happened to him, handed her a bag of gold and said: - So I was right about the beans? As you can see, they are really magical! Jack and his mother lived for some time on the money that was in the bag. But one day the bag was empty, and Jack decided to climb back to the top of the beanstalk.
One day he woke up early in the morning and started climbing the stem. He climbed and climbed until he found himself on an already familiar road. Walking along it, I reached a high-high house. Like last time, a tall, tall woman stood at the threshold. Jack greeted her and, as if nothing had happened, asked: - Give me something to eat, please! - Get out of here as soon as possible! - answered the ogre's wife. - Otherwise, my husband will return and eat you. But Jack repeated his request so insistently that the ogre's wife, who was actually a kind woman, had no choice but to let the boy into the house and give him food. Jack deliberately chewed slowly. He wanted to wait for the ogre to come home. Finally, the footsteps of the cannibal were heard, and the cannibal again hid Jack in the oven. Then everything was the same as last time: the ogre came in and asked: "What does it smell like here?" and after breakfast, he ordered his wife: - Bring me a chicken that lays golden eggs! The giantess brought it, and the ogre ordered the chicken to lay, and she laid a golden egg.
Then the cannibal began to snore. Then Jack slowly got out of the oven, grabbed the golden hen and ran away. But then the hen cackled and woke up the ogre. - Hey, wife, what are you doing with my golden hen! he cried. Jack heard these words when he was already far from the cannibal's house. He darted towards the beanstalk and flew down it. Arriving home, Jack showed his mother a chicken and ordered: - Run! And the chicken immediately laid a golden egg. Every time Jack told her to lay, the hen would lay a golden egg. But that wasn't enough for Jack. He decided to try his luck again in the cannibal's house. One day he got up early and climbed the beanstalk.
I got to the cannibal's house by the already familiar road, quietly made my way inside and hid in a copper cauldron. Jack did not wait long; suddenly he hears familiar steps - the cannibal enters the house with his wife. - Again I smell this malicious boy! - shouted the ogre. - Well, if this is the scoundrel who stole your gold and a chicken with golden eggs, - says the ogre's wife, - then he is probably sitting in the stove! And both rushed to the stove.
But Jack was not there, because he hid this time in a different place. No matter how much they searched for the boy, they did not find it. At last the ogre sat down at the breakfast table. But he kept repeating: “And yet it seems to me that ...” and, leaving the table, he again searched all the corners and nooks and crannies, only he did not guess to look into the copper cauldron. After breakfast, the ogre shouted: “Wife , bring here my golden harp! The wife brought the harp and placed it in front of her husband. - Sing! - the giant commanded the harp. And the golden harp played so well that you would listen. She played and played until the ogre finally began to snore.
Here Jack slightly lifted the lid of the cauldron, climbed out of it slowly and walked on tiptoe to the table. Then he climbed onto the table, grabbed the golden harp and rushed to the door. At that moment, the harp called loudly: - Master! Master! The giant shuddered, woke up and saw that Jack had stolen his harp.
