Jump at the Sun: Jack and the Beanstalk - Fairy Tale Classics (Jump at the Sun Fairy-Tale Classics)
PreS-Gr. 2. Books in the new, inexpensive paperback Fairy Tale Classics series are extremely uneven, and it's no surprise that authors aren't identified. The texts are bland and generic; the art is greeting-card style with glamorized, idyllic African American characters who bat their eyelashes and smile and smile. Kids will like the brave boy who overcomes his foolishness inJack and the Beanstalk, which blends several fairy tales together. But then there's a heavy message: "They shared their wealth with poorer people."  Yes, African American kids want to find themselves and their families in traditional stories; it's certainly nice to see Jack in dreadlocks. But fairy tales are more than sweet messages and upbeat role models, and there are many excellent African American versions that offer fuller text and much better illustrations. Virginia Hamilton'sThe Girl Who Spun Gold(2000) is a fine West Indian version of "Rumpelstiltskin," with Leo and Diane Dillons' exquisite illustrations, bright with patterns from traditional African geometric cloths. Then there's Brian Pinkney'sThumbelina(2003), with its lovely, dark-skinned heroine; Joyce Carol Thomas'The Gospel Cinderella[BKL F 15 04]; and lots, lots more.Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved