Traditional Literature: Kate and the Beanstalk

Kate and the Beanstalk

Grades: 1-4

Traditional Literature 

By: Mary Pope Osborne 

Illustrated by: Giselle Potter

            Everyone knows the story of Jack and the Beanstalk but how many have heard the story of Kate and the Beanstalk?  This is a great twist to the traditional tale of Jack and his giant plant. 

            Her last hope for her and her mother not starving, like Jack’s, is to sell the cow for food and instead buys magical beans from an old beggar.  When her mother throws the beans out the window a giant beanstalk grows and Kate climbs to the top.  The old woman at the top tells her the Giant killed the prince that used to live in the castle and that Kate should steal back the prince’s magical items.  Kate is brave and clever in her adventures of stealing back what is rightfully hers from the giant that killed her father, even before she knows that the magical items are actually hers.  Kate is not afraid as she sneaks into the castle three times to take back the prince’s belongings. When the Giant falls down the beanstalk and dies, a fairy visits Kate and her mother and bring them back to the castle in the sky that is rightfully theirs. 

            The illustrations are beautiful water colors that contribute a lot to the story.  The reader can understand the feelings of the characters clearly through the expressions on their faces in the illustrations.  This helps to tell the story and give perspective to the reader. 

            Children can make their own inquiries about what will happen later in the story because of the anticipation Osborne presents in the plot.  Kate is brave, clever and is delineated socially which hints at the folktale being traditional literature.  The setting is also vague and the conflict is identified early on.  There is some ambiguity in the story about who the widow and her child are but it is resolved in the end of the story as Kate and her mother. 

            I would definitely keep Osborne’s version of this classic tale in my classroom.  It puts a new and interesting twist on the original story and would be very interesting for students to read.  It is a great folktale to begin with and the fact that it can be told about a girl instead of a boy also makes it interesting.  I would definitely keep both versions in my classroom and let students decide which they like better. 

           

3.3. Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

             2.9 Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.

            8.14 Make judgments about setting, characters and events and support them with evidence from the text.