Mighty Jack

Written and Illustrated by Ben Hatke


Jack is in charge of his autistic sister Maddy over the summer while their mom works two jobs. The first day of summer vacation leads to the family going to the swap meet. Jack and Maddy stay together the first little while and then she vanishes from his sight. When Jack finds her, she’s doing something she usually doesn’t do–she’s speaking to a complete stranger! The man she’s speaking to convinces Jack and Maddy to buy a box of beans for a high price. Jack doesn’t have enough, so the man takes the keys to their mom’s car. Jack’s mom is very unhappy and goes through many emotions.
Maddy is up early the next day and soon wakes Jack up. They spend all day planting the beans and Maddy has never been more excited for anything. Soon the plants start to sprout and Jack realizes these are not ordinary plants. Just when he thought things couldn’t get any worse, a mythical creature shows up and their lives take a turn that they couldn’t have imagined no matter how hard they tried.

This book is a fun new take on Jack and the Beanstalk. It ends on a complete cliff hanger and book number 2 seems like it will be a must read.

Review by Allyson Rolfe, Granger El Media Center
Rating: ★★★★✩ (4 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 3-6

Mighty Jack
Written and Illustrated by Ben Hatke
First Second, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck
203 pages
Release Date: September 6, 2016
A review copy was provided by the publisher.

Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , , ,

1 thought on “Mighty Jack”

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top