Daddy and the Beanstalk (A Graphic Novel)

by Andrew Weiner, Bethany Crandall (Illustrator)

Overview

"[A] playful take on a classic story" —Booklist

Perfect for fans of Narwhal and Jelly, this hilarious take on classic fairy tales tackles the family chaos of bedtime.

Did you know that Jack was looking for hot dogs when he climbed up the beanstalk? Or that he was led there by a talking fox named Wendy?

Ok, maybe that’s not how the real story goes, but when Estella’s dad, Andrew, tells her bedtime stories, she’s always in for a bit of twist!

A hilarious modern retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, Daddy and the Beanstalk is a recipe for fun and adventure—with a hint of magic. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316592925
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	11/05/2024
Pages:	96
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.28(d)
Age Range:	6 - 10 Years

About the Author

Andrew Weiner is a graphic novelist, screenwriter, and filmmaker, and the founder of the multimedia entertainment company Inner Station. Most recently, he cowrote and created the YA graphic novel, Girl on Fire alongside Alicia Keys. To date, he has written, produced, and/or directed eight feature films. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, his two small kids, and their giant cat, Waldo. 

Bethany Crandall is an illustrator and designer based in Idaho. Bethany has illustrated children’s books and for magazines. She has also worked doing designs for children’s television. Bethany studied at Brigham Young University—Idaho and graduated with a bachelor of fine arts in illustration. She enjoys drawing and reading. She invites you to find her on Instagram @bethanycrandallart.

Editorial Reviews

"Elementary-schoolers who can't get enough early reader comics, especially those who like fantasy adventures, will get lots of enjoyment out of Weiner's playful take on a classic story."—Booklist

"Laughs abound in this fractured fairy tale embedded in a bedtime story."—School Library Journal

"Crandall’s bubbly illustrations serve the plot well, shining in sequences where a comparatively tiny Andy navigates the giant child’s home...A cheerful, slightly snarky riff on a familiar fable."—Kirkus Review

From the Publisher

12/01/2023

Gr 1–4—Six-year-old Estella convinces her dad to tell her a bedtime story. She requests a "not-too-scary" one about him and his sister when they were kids and he opens with a tale that sounds very much like "Jack and the Beanstalk." The story smoothly jumps back and forth between the real-world dad and daughter to a fantasy adventure. They humorously discuss many life lessons with Estella adding her opinions. In keeping with the original tale, seven-year-old Andy, who is Estella's dad, is captured by a giant. Luckily his older sister followed him up the beanstalk. Together they escape and race back down, chop the beanstalk down, and cause the giant to fall. He regains consciousness and is able to explain the misunderstanding. Andy was afraid he would become soup for the giant, when in fact, the giant wanted Andy to make soup. The misunderstanding ends in friendship, and it turns out Andy makes terrible soup but throws a great pizza party. Crandall overlaps the two branches of the story while cleverly separating time lines by using pink tones for the present and yellows and greens in the fantasy past. Panels of all shapes and sizes make the story fun to read. VERDICT Laughs abound in this fractured fairy tale embedded in a bedtime story. Give this to fans of "Katie the Catsitter" by Colleen AF Venable and Giants Beware! by Jorge Aguirre.—Elisabeth LeBris

School Library Journal

2023-08-26
A father tells his daughter a most entertaining bedtime story.

Estella is getting bouncy, so her father, Andy, spins a yarn to settle her down. She requests a “little less than medium scary” tale, so he launches into a personalized version of “Jack and the Beanstalk.” On an errand to buy groceries, young Andy encounters a suspicious, pompadour-sporting man with a bag of magic beans. He buys them, his mom throws them out the window, a beanstalk sprouts, and Andy climbs it to a town above the clouds. Curious and hungry, Andy seeks hot dogs instead of treasure and discovers that the giant is a child. The bedtime story doesn’t deviate dramatically from the source material (though it has a happier resolution); the rapport between father and daughter is the real draw here. In Estella’s imagination, cowboys and stagecoaches filled the streets when her father was young, and she tries to suss out how Daddy could possibly have been a mischievous kid. Crandall’s bubbly illustrations serve the plot well, shining in sequences where a comparatively tiny Andy navigates the giant child’s home. Andy, Estella, and their family are dark-haired and olive-skinned; the giant presents white and looks plucked from a midcentury sitcom; and the giant’s monstrous peers have black, brown, and blue skin.

A cheerful, slightly snarky riff on a familiar fable. (Graphic fiction. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews