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
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 PLAY
Save 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 PLANS
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More Resources for Little Book Lovers
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.
Mary
I know he doesn’t climb a beanstalk, but similar giant/trickster tales are “Tukama Tootles his Flute” that is based in the Caribbean and “Abiyoyo” by Pete Seeger that takes place in Africa
Shaunna Evans
Thank you for the suggestions!
Elaine
There is also a fun book called Jack and the Baked Beanstalk.
Deb @ Living Montessori Now
I love your idea of comparing different versions of the same story! I pinned your post to my Literature-Based Activities board at http://pinterest.com/debchitwood/literature-based-activities/
Shaunna
Thanks so much! Comparing the stories is really encouraging the kids to listen closing to the details and think as we read. They get so excited when they find something that reminds them of another version.
Tulip
One of my favorite stories! Thanks for sharing all of these different versions at Mom’s Library.
Shaunna
Thanks! We loved reading all of the different versions.
Janelle
Fee fi fo fum! Thanks for all the suggestions. The only version we’ve read so far is the one included in Mary Engelbreit’s Nursery Tales. It’s a simplified, not too scary version, would work well for young children. We’ll have to look at some of the other options available. My daughter likes elaborate illustrations and is a little older so I’m interested in locating a book with Gennady Spirin’s illustrations or perhaps John Howe’s version as well.
Shaunna
Thank you for the Mary Englebreit suggestion. The book with Spirin’s illustrations wasn’t a good pick for my daughter. I have heard great things about Sprin’s illustrations, but I haven’t gotten my hands on a copy of it yet. I appreciate your ideas.
JDaniel4's Mom
These all look great! I like that they giant ends up in space in one! Thank you for sharing this post on Read.Explore.Learn.
Shaunna
Thanks! I went through quite a few versions before finding the ones we liked best. Glad you like them, too.
What Do We Do All Day?
There is a brand new version called “Jack and the Baked Beanstalk” which I am dying to get my hands on.
Shaunna
Ooh! Thank you! I just looked it up, and I agree. It looks like it will be a great addition to our Jack and the Beanstalk stories. Thanks for sharing.