Crazy Jack

By Donna Jo Napoli

Book Overview

Once there was a boy named Jack who traded away a cow for a handful of beans. But Jack was no fool, he was haunted since the day his father climbed up into the clouds and vanished. When the beans... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385326270
• ISBN13: 9780385326278
• Release Date: October 1999
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.5" x 6.0"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Back with Jack

Napoli's retelling of old fairy tale, Jack and the Beanstalk, brought back magical memories from when I was a child. Jack is living a fairy tale dream, when disaster strikes what he and his family have worked for. Drought dries up the crops, father disappears amongst the clouds and finally, Flora, the girl of his dreams, thinks he has gone crazy. Crazy is just what Jack becomes! He must be, however, what sane person would trade a cow for a few colorful beans? When Jack returns, he finds anger in his mother and Flora, until he plants the beans, which turn into a stalk high in the sky. Amazingly, Jack finds more than riches to bring home on his journey above the clouds. Riches he and his family are sure to enjoy for life. This book was an excellent retelling of the ever-so-popular story of Jack and the Beanstalk. What I enjoyed so much about the book was how the characters were brought to life and how the language spoke to the adult side, whereas, the other version touches on the child. I blasted back into the past and enjoyed the tale all over again!!

typical Napoli

This was a perfect example of the surely mesmerizing Napoli tales. Obviously adapted not from Disney, but from Grimms brothers' twisted tales of the fine line between love and insanity, Napoli never fails to leave the reader stunned. This, like always, was a five star read. Don't be fooled by the lack of pages, this is an obvious case of quality over quanity.

A fairy tale retold

"Crazy Jack" is another great work by Donna Jo Napoli; a twist on "Jack and the Beanstalk".Nine year old Jack is perfectly happy living in rural England, with his mother, father, and the girl he loves next door. His family is poor, but happy, with food, a home, and each other. When Jack's father disappears over the dangerous cliff, he can't believe that he forgot the most important thing in their family - having each other!Everyone believes Jack has gone crazy with the loss of his father, the way he cries and claws at the cliff. His beloved Flora even says so! When his mother asks him to sell their last valuable possession, the cow, he does - but only for a bag of beans that were supposedly his father's.Jack's mother is incredibly angry with him, but Jack plants the beans by the cliff - and they grow! Now he can climb the beanstalk, but what will he find?This story was an excellent retelling of an old fairy tale, with much more depth and story to it! I'd definately recommend Napoli's other books, such as "Zel" and "Spinners".

Crazy Jack

I love Donna Jo Napoli's work, and this latest book is just more proof of how wonderful her writing is! Donna chooses her words perfectly, it's like poetry, each word has meaning and is to be savored. I never liked the story of Jack and the Beanstalk until now. This book weaves a subtle, mesmerizing tale of sanity and insanity -if you call love insanity. I could see ties to the author's earlier work "The Magic Circle" in "Crazy Jack" and the love found in "Zel" and " Prince of the Pond", but in this book the author has blended all the best elements more perfectly into a book you can easily recommend to a child or an adult equally.

Simple, yet sublime

On the surface, Crazy Jack is just a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, with some of the extremities of the story smoothed out and a pleasant rural English atmosphere. However, the subtleties of this story are incredible-- from the disturbing portrayal of Jack's loving parents as the giant and his mistress in the distorted reality of their house in the clouds, to the myriad delicate touches that truly flesh out the tale. Napoli is excellent at creating a realistic rural environment-- it adeptly avoids being stiffly historical and instead is vibrantly alive. Equally masterful is the theme of the three things necessary to be happy-- food on the table, a roof over their heads, and the most important one, forgotten by Jack's father-- each other. The gifts stolen from the giant each time fulfill each in order. Though the hen no longer lays golden eggs, Jack discovers the value of real ones; though the basket is no longer of gold, Jack recognizes the value of stones, and though the harp no longer sings on its own, Jack finds he can learn to play it and win the third part of happiness. The beanstalk becomes a symbol of Jack's grief and guilt towards his father's death, and in the end, Jack must destroy it himself. Crazy Jack is superficially a children's book, with its small number of pages, but it is the incredibly subtle adult themes running through it that make it a profound and beautiful tale. Napoli's other retellings-- The Magic Circle, Zel, Spinners and Sirena are also recommended.