“Spill the Beans” by: Sarah Mlynowski

This is the 13th book in the Whatever After series by: Sarah Mlynowski.

Recommended Age: 8-11

Description: My brother Jonah's dream has come true. We have FINALLY landed in his favorite fairy tale: Jack and the Beanstalk!

It's a lot of fun meeting Jack. But then we accidentally mess up his story, which means Jack can't climb up the magic beanstalk to find the giant's riches. It's time to take matters into our own hands.

Now we have to:

- Make a deal with a sneaky trader

- Climb a beanstalk into the sky

- Try not to get eaten by a giant

- Find the goose that lays golden eggs

Otherwise, Jack won't get his treasure, and our troubles will be GIGANTIC . . .

My Rating: 3/5

I absolutely love fairytale retellings, but this one fell short for me. The storyline itself was okay, but I had too many concerns (see Romantic Content and Additional Notes sections).


Things to be aware of in “Spill the Beans”


Violence:

  • There are obviously many references to Jack and the Beanstalk some of which discuss giants killing/murdering humans (grinding bones, etc.) and human who  desire to kill giants.


Romantic Content:

  • Instances of blushing and winking as well as mentions of crushes, “being cute” (in reference to a boy) and girlfriend(s).
  • One kiss (on the cheek) SPOILER! Okay, I did NOT like that! Usually, I’m all in for the little bits of romance, but this just felt weird to me. First of all, Abby and Jack are so young. Second, I felt like Abby’s crush was not reciprocated and therefore this was just tacked on at the end. This is just my personal opinion. END OF SPOILER!


Additional Notes:

(-2 stars)

  • There are elements of and discussions about stealing (as this appears in the Jack and the Beanstalk fairytale). SPOILER! While the majority of the stolen items are returned, I still felt as though it was not handled in the best way. The stealing should have stopped long before it did and there should have been consequences for what was stolen (in my opinion). Furthermore, at the end of the book, Abby thinks, “Jack tried to steal Nelly (the goose that lays golden eggs) to ensure he and his mom would survive. That’s a pretty good reason!” I disagree!! There are many ways this conflict could have been resolved WITHOUT stealing and justifying it. END OF SPOILER!
  • There is an instance of lying/not telling the full truth to a character’s mother.
  • A character makes the statement: “sometimes you have to do something wrong to make up for something wrong.”

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