Fairy Trails: Jack and the Beanstalk

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK is a fun, interactive board book that brings young readers into the story. The book tells a simplified version of the classic fairy tale. In this book, Jack takes his cow to market, gets the beans, which get thrown out the window and grow, then climbs and finds the giant and his castle. Jack steals some of his gold and when the giant follows him, he asks his mother to cut it down (which she does, and the beanstalk and giant fall with a crash). Jack and his mother live happily ever after.

What I loved: This is an interesting take on the classic fairy tale with a simplified plot and interactive sliders. The sliders bring children into the story, having them help Jack climb the beanstalk, collect the gold, and then come back down (there is also a slider for the giant falling from the beanstalk).

The images have a great use of bright colors and are quite attention-grabbing. They tell the story well. The sliders move easily through the tracks. They are also self-contained, which makes it a fun activity on the go, as the discs cannot come out of the tracks and can be moved up and down or around the paths easily.

Final verdict: JACK AND THE BEANSTALK is a fun new take on the classic fairy tale with interactive sliders that toddlers will enjoy.