Jack and the Beanstalk - Traditional/Folk Literature

Front Cover

Back Cover

This version of Jack and the Beanstalk, which belongs to my mother, was published by Whitman Publishing Company and was illustrated by Art Seiden. Jack's family was very poor and their garden had no food in it, so his mother sent him to sell the cow and return with food. He met an old man and exchanged the cow for some magic beans. His mother was very angry with him and threw the beans out the window. When Jack woke up, the beans had grown a very large and tall beanstalk that reached the sky. Jack climbed the beanstalk and reached a beautiful land. A woman told Jack not to go to the castle because there was a mean giant who had stolen his father's fortune. Jack went to the castle and the giant's wife said she would give him food but told him to hide because the giant ate little boys. But the giant could smell the boy and looked for him but could not find him. He asked his wife to bring him his magic hen which laid him a golden egg. Then the giant fell asleep so Jack stole the hen and went back down the beanstalk. The next day Jack returned to the castle. Again, the giant smelled Jack but could not find him. This time the giant asked his wife for his harp which could play music on its own. For the second time, the giant fell asleep so Jack stole the harp and took it home to his mother. The next day Jack returned to the castle. The giant smelled Jack, but he remained hidden. The giant asked his wife to bring him bags of his gold. The giant pretended to be asleep so Jack tried to steal the gold but was caught. He ran to the beanstalk and climbed down but the giant followed him. Jack chopped the beanstalk down with his ax and the giant fell to his death. Jack and his mother lived happily ever after with the magic hen, harp, and bags of gold.

I would use this book as a writing prompt. The students could either write about whether or not they think that it was fair for Jack to take these things from the giant. They could argue "no" because he was stealing or "yes" because the items belonged to Jack's father originally. I would let the students decide what they believed, pick a stance, and argue for that point-of-view.
It could also be a creative writing prompt. Students could decide new items for Jack to take from the castle. Or, they could write an alternate ending about what happened if Jack did not make it down the beanstalk or what happened if the giant climbed down the beanstalk before Jack could cut it down.