Jeanne Steig

I've just glanced at this book, and she says Jonah was in a whale, when we know that it was really a big fish, but I think her very brief poems about various parts of the Bible are insightful as well as humorous. And she even disagrees at times.

The first few stories are told with such grace & beauty that Wm's illustrations seem totally inappropriate.?á I always see his pix as playful and just a little subversive, with, perhaps, a nod or wink to more adult wit.?á The last couple of stories do have more fun in them, and the art fits better.?á But nowhere are we told such things as Why does the Frog Prince want to marry that nasty snobby Princess? or Why did the wicked fairy turn the Prince into a Beast? or Why does Jack have show more more right to the gold, hen, and harp than does the Giant?

A deep fan of fairy tales might enjoy visiting these versions of the stories, especially the language of the re-tellings, if they can get this book from their libraries.?á But I cannot recommend it for purchase by anybody.

I do, however, like the following line well enough to want to start using it in conversation with my family:
And what more could you wish??á The moon on a dish?"" show less

A Handful of Beans is a delightful collection of six classic fairy tales adapted: Rumpelstiltskin, Beauty and the Beast, Hansel and Gretel, The Frog Prince, Jack and the Beanstalk

Each fairy tale has a quirky twist and just a little bit different than when I first learned the stories. But I was smiling as I was reading each tale and said the added rhymes out loud to myself. Each tale ends with a question, much like "what's the moral of the story?" It left me wondering and thinking.

This book show more has a lot more text than pictures. It's more suitable for older students who are familiar with the stories. There's also more vivid violence in this adaptation than you would find in most younger students' versions of these tales. (Rumpelstiltskin tears himself in two, the Beast talks of murder, Gretel pushing the witch in the oven is illustrated and also elaborated in gruesome words, Wolf is filled with rocks and dies)

The illustrations are simple that accompany the tales but with enough detail to make them fun. The illustrations are done by the author's late husband, William Steig. He is the Caldecott Award winner of Sylvester and the Magic Pebble.(1977) Interesting fact: he wrote the original book Shrek, which led to the Dreamworks film. What talent!

A Handful of Beans will be a great addition to my library collection. I can't wait to read it aloud with my older students! show less

I liked this book because the author did a wonderful job of retelling the traditional Greek myths without losing the true essence of the stories. I was confused about the age range for this book. The illustrations that accompanied the stories were inappropriate for children and included nudity. The big idea of this book was to portray Greek myths in a manner that children could understand. There is also an underlying message of moral development.