Jaspers Beanstalk (Aladdin Picture Books)

From Publishers Weekly In their latest collaboration, Butterworth and Inkpen ( I Wonder at the Zoo ; Just Like Jasper ) bring back the amiable feline character, who found a bean on Monday. On Tuesday, Jasper planted his bean; on Wednesday he watered it; and on Thursday "he dug and raked and sprayed and hoed it." On each successive day--and spread--the busy fellow tends his would-be beanstalk. But when no growth appears in a week's time, Jasper digs up the bean and tosses it over his shoulder, lamenting, "That bean will never make a beanstalk." Youngsters will be as thrilled as this hero himself to discover that his pronouncement is wrong. As the cat sits reading the well-known tale of another successful beanstalk cultivator, a small bird informs Jasper that a leafy stalk is growing outside his window. With its basic concept, large-scale pictures, spare text and oversize typeface, this satisfying though slender story is a good choice for preschoolers as well as for children just beginning to read on their own. Ages 3-6. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From School Library Journal PreSchool-Grade 1-- Jasper the cat, from Just Like Jasper! (Little, 1989), finds a bean, plants it, and waits for something to happen. He painstakingly cares for it by watering and hoeing throughout the course of a week, but to no avail; it just won't grow. In frustration, he digs it up and throws it away, claiming "that bean will never make a beanstalk." But a long time later, it not only begins to grow, but also takes on fairy-tale proportions. Inkpen's delightful illustrations are larger and more colorful than those in The Blue Balloon (Little, 1990), and they complement the spare yet charming text. It's perfect for beginning readers, a winner of a toddler story time selection, and will fare nicely as a lapbook, too. --Denise Furgione, Atlantic County Library, Mays Landing, NJCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.