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Unabridged Audiobook
Runtime: 3 hours, 16 minutes
Read by Emily Eiden
Ever since the first book in author Sarah Mlynowski’s Whatever After series of fractured fairy tales, poor 7-year-old Jonah has been longing to visit the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, only to meet one princess after another. But in the audio edition of the thirteenth book in the series, Spill the Beans, he finally gets his wish.
The story begins as 10-year-old Abby decides to brighten her little brother’s bad day with another trip into a fairy tale, courtesy of the magic mirror in their basement. It’s been a rough day for Jonah, and Abby knows that a fairy tale adventure will cheer him up. And when they land in Jonah’s very favorite fairy tale, that bad day is all but forgotten. But then they accidentally mess up Jack’s story, and the siblings are forced to make a deal with a shady trader and climb up the beanstalk to make sure that Jack gets his happily ever after.
After meeting all of the beloved princesses—from Snow White to Rapunzel(and with a few non-royal young ladies thrown in, too)—it’s fun to see Abby’s fun-loving little brother finally get his fairy tale wish. Instead of princesses in peril and handsome princes, this installment tells the story of a poor boy battling a couple of giants to help provide for himself and his mother. And while Abby typically takes the lead on their adventures, often bossing everyone around, she gets to show a somewhat gentler side this time around as she looks out for her little brother and joins him in his favorite story.
Of course, none of the stories in this series are ever as simple as they may seem at first glance. Jack’s original tale is a relatively straightforward one, but as Abby and Jonah attempt to fix Jack’s story, they run into all kinds of twists and turns along the way. There are plenty of surprises, too. And, as Abby and Jonah race against time to put all of the pieces back into place before their parents wake up and find them missing, they discover that not everything in life is black and white—which helps them with their real-world challenges back home in Smithville, too.
Jack and the Beanstalk may not be a typical favorite among the fairy tale crowd, but the lovable characters in Spill the Beans make it a fun-filled adventure that girls will be able to enjoy with their little brothers.
Listen to the review on Shelf Discovery:
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