A Bean, a Stalk and a Boy Named Jack - Hardcover

William Joyce does a lot of stuff but children’s books are his true bailiwick (The Guardians, Dinosaur Bob, George Shrinks, and the #1 New York Times bestselling The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, which is also his Academy Award–winning short film, to name a few). He lives in Shreveport, Louisiana. Talk to William Joyce and look at upcoming work at @HeyBillJoyce on Twitter and Instagram.

Moonbot Studios is a secret, zero-gravity colony in Shreveport, Louisiana, inhabited by interstellar beings. Their mission is to create imaginative books, films, apps, games, and entertainment in this—and any other—dimension. Come see at MoonbotStudios.com!

William Joyce does a lot of stuff but children’s books are his true bailiwick (The Guardians, Dinosaur Bob, George Shrinks, and the #1 New York Times bestselling The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, which is also his Academy Award–winning short film, to name a few). He lives in Shreveport, Louisiana. Talk to William Joyce and look at upcoming work at @HeyBillJoyce on Twitter and Instagram.

Kenny Callicutt is a tallish artist. He honed his illustration skills at Virginia Commonwealth University and, since 2012, has been drawing and magicking at Moonbot Studios. A Bean, a Stalk, and a Boy Named Jack is his picture book debut.

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