Summary of Book:
This is about a little boy and his mother who don't really have a whole lot they make do with what they have. The mother sends the boy to sell a cow so that they will have money and that they can eat, however the boy doesn't sell the cow at all he trades it for some magic beans. His mother is not happy with this and just tosses the beans out of the window of their home and over night a giant bean stalk has grown that reaches into the clouds. The boy sees this and climbs to the top where he meets a woman who feeds him. Eventually the boys ends up taking things from the giants house in the clouds back down to his mother and they are able to eat and have extra money.

Personal Reaction:
For me this is really not a story that I'm familiar with it wasn't read to me as a child and maybe only once or twice in school. Overall I like that the story is simple and also that it has giants in it. I know that is something fictional but its interesting to me ill be adding this to my collection of books eventually.

Extension Ideas:
Plant life, science
Math with the money or value of the coins used

Summary:
Giant's Have Feelings Too is a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, but from the point of view of the giant's wife. She tells about how she let Jack in her house, feed him, and even hid him from her husband when he walked into the room. Jack got a little too greedy at the end however, and now the giant's will never give to him again.

Personal Reaction:
I absolutely loved reading this tale from a giant's point of view. Every story has two sides, and this book sure showed another view point on this story. I would gladly read this to my students some day.

Classroom Extension:
1. Refer to how there is always more than one way to look at something.
2. Have children rewrite old stories from another view point.

Giants Have Feelings Too is a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk but is told from the point of view of the giants. In this story, Jack is described as the "bad guy" and the giants tell it as if they were nothing but kind to the boy. He ends up taking all of the giants gold.

I enjoyed this book. I had never read any of the Another Point of View books and I thought it was kind of neat. I think that children would definately get a kick out of this story.

Classroom extension #1: Read a series of Another Point of View books in which traditional literature books are told by different characters points of view. Make a lesson plan that incorporates teaching the children about point of view.

Classroom extension #2: Gather materials needed (gold...etc.) and have the children act out the story of Jack and the Beanstalk and then have them act out Giants Have feelings Too. It would be a fun activity that the children would likely enjoy.

This book has two stories in one book. You can read Jack and the Beanstalk and then flip it over to read Giants have feelings, Too. The Jack and the Beanstalk part tells the story everyone knows well of Jack taking a cow to market but instead of selling it he trades it for some magic beans. His mother gets mad and throws the beans out the window. In the morning there is a giant beanstalk outside the window that reaches all the way to the sky. Jack climbs it and finds some giants living in the sky. He goes up there three times, the first time he steals the giant's gold coins, then his hen that lays gold eggs, and then his magic singing harp. On the last trip the giant is chasing him down the beanstalk and Jack cuts it down, killing the giant when he falls. Then, if you flip the book over, you can read the story from the giant's point of view. The giants claim to have been very nice to Jack and that he stole everything for no reason.
This story was fun to read, as it always is. I've always fancied the idea of giants living in the clouds. I didn't like the idea of the whole giants having feelings part. Giants are well known by all, children and adults, to be mean. Granted, it did provide a good lesson about not invading someone's home and stealing all of their valuables. But still, it ruined the story in my mind.
After reading both of these stories to a class I would ask them what they thought about the whole idea of giants having feelings. I would ask them if they thought it was very mean of Jack to steal all of their life savings, or if the giants deserved it.

This is an old story. The story changes ever so slightly with each telling but in this one it is as I have heard it before. Jack climbs the beanstalk and steals not being punished but rewarded for his trickery.

I like the story other than the fact that I have heard the so many times that I can tell it on my own by now.

This could be used as an example of what not to be. Kids do not steal from those who have been kind to you.