Juxtaposes the traditional tale of Jack who climbs the beanstalk to a giant's castle with a retelling from the giant's point of view.

Juxtaposes the traditional tale of Jack who climbs the beanstalk to a giant's castle with a retelling from the giant's point of view.

Week-long units for each letter of the alphabet reinforce developing literacy skills. Read-aloud activities, songs, centers, and snacks provide connections to language arts, math, science, and social studies concepts. Teach these stand-alone units in order, or flow from one theme to the next!

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...

Photo-collage illustrations and updated text provide a new look at the traditional tale of a boy who plants magic beans, climbs the beanstalk, and is captured by a giant and his wife.

Folktales and fairy tales are living stories; as part of the oral tradition, they change and evolve as they are retold from generation to generation. In the last thirty years, however, revision has become an art form of its own, with tales intentionally revised to achieve humorous effect, send political messages, add different cultural or regional elements, try out new narrative voices, and more. These revisions take all forms, from short stories to novel-length narratives to poems, plays, musicals, films and advertisements. The resulting tales paint the tales from myriad perspectives, using the broad palette of human creativity. This study examines folktale revisions from many angles, drawing on examples primarily from revisions of Western European traditional tales, such as those of the Grimm Brothers and Charles Perrault. Also discussed are new folktales that combine traditional storylines with commentary on modern life. The conclusion considers how revisionists poke fun at and struggle to understand stories that sometimes made little sense to start with.

This Oxford companion provides an authoritative reference source for fairy tales, exploring the tales themselves, both ancient and modern, the writers who wrote and reworked them and related topics such as film, art, opera and even advertising.