This Literature Unit Is:

Jack and the Beanstalk

Introduction

Jack and the Beanstalk is close to 300 years old. The earliest printed versions date to 200 years ago. There are many versions of the story. The two most common differ in their justification or lack of it for Jack's behavior. In Joseph Jacobs version Jack is a trickster, a common personality in myths and fairy tales. In Andrew Lang's version Jack is the rightful heir to all that the giant has and he takes it back. I have included both versions on this site, however all questions and vocabulary words refer to the Joseph Jacobs version of the tale which is the version used by Junior Great Books from The Great Books Foundation and the most common version reprinted today.

Joseph Jacobs version is here (This is the version I use in class).
Andrew Lang version is here.

Unit Sections: