Title:The famous adventures of Jack
Author: Berlie Doherty
Illustrator: Sonja Lamut
Genre: Fantasy
Sub Genre: Folk Story
Primary Character: Jill, the cat, Mother Greenwood
Secondary Character: The Jacks
Theme: Go and make your own adventure
Readability Score: n/a
Publication Date: 2000
Publisher: GreenWillow books
Awards: none
ISBN: 0-06-623619-3
Summary: In this story a girl named Jill, is told that she needs to meet Jack, and that she should take a bag to Mother Greenwood and she would know where to find Jack. When Jill tells this to Mother Greenwood, she has Jill empty the contents of the bag- with each item giving her a new story to tell about Jack. There are several Jacks in this story with everyone a new story to tell. One Jack married a princess because of his honesty and humility. Another Jack saved his father from death with life saving apples, but his brothers tricked him and stole the apples and took the credit for the apples, Jack receives his fair treatment when the people he had saved along the way to get apples come back to help him. He too married a princess- the princess from the castle which he had received the apples from. Mother Greenwood was kin to the Jacks and that is how she knew so many stories. Jill loves the stories and listens eagerly. Then the time comes that the stories are over, but Jill feels she has still not heard the story of the Jack she needs to hear from. Mother Greenwood, tells her to take a buckle to Jack- who happens to be up the bean stalk- this is the Jack, Jill was needing.
How would use: This story is very clever in the way it leads up to the story we all know- Jack and the Bean stalk- perhaps Jack and Jill? I would have the student draw their own conclusions to this story. It just ends with Jill going up the bean stalk- does Jill find a giant? A golden hen? Is Jill the next princess in the list of princesses that the "Jacks" marry?
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