Liesl Shurtliff

Somewhere between [b:Artemis Fowl|249747|Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, #1)|Eoin Colfer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327945104s/249747.jpg|1334778] and [b:Ella Enchanted|24337|Ella Enchanted|Gail Carson Levine|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1338459167s/24337.jpg|2485462] lies Rump, a book that is both gross and sweet. Recommended for third and fourth graders who like action, humor, and magic.

Overall, I liked this and will happily endorse it for pleasure reading, but it didn't measure up as a mock Newbery pick. The writing was heavy-handed at times. The magic behind the mystery (the mystery behind the magic?) didn't quite add up. It was certainly longer than it needed to be.

This might be a good book club pick for young readers. You could have a great discussion about all the fun fractured fairy tales there are out there. I'm sure kids will enjoy the world Shurtliff creates where your name is your destiny, trolls offer you sludge for dinner, and pixies climb up your pants and bite your rear. Speaking of which, we librarians could have a competition over how many "rump" puns we can fit into a booktalk! The bottom line is that you will enjoy Rump all the way to the end, so go read your tush off!… (altro)

Originally published in 2015.

READING LEVEL: 4.4 AR POINTS: 10

This 296 page fantasy novel is based on two separate folklores: 1) Jack and the Beanstalk, and 2) Jack the Giant Slayer, and is the third book in The (Fairly) True Tales Series by Liesl Shurtliff. I chose this book to fulfil as my "fantasy novel" (#9/52) reading challenge for 2019 and I have a few grandkids who will also really enjoy reading this book.

What incredible hidden lessons for young people and full of adventure and humor to boot. It shows the value of working together, persevering, and thinking outside the box to solve problems, no matter how small or large or important or insignificant one is. And it shows the consequence of greed, or idolizing something that can't sustain, such as gold, which the giant king idolized so much it was his undoing and cause of death. Of course, the younger kids may not see all of this in the story. They may just enjoy the adventure.

The giant king's infatuation over gold was causing the famine in the land of the giants. He had his magician turn a hen into a hen who lays golden eggs on demand. And every golden egg drew resources from the earth. Well, you can't eat gold, and you can only reap what you sow.

After Jack had finally found his papa, they sat talking, trying to figure out what was cursing the land of the giants and causing the giants to enter the "Below" and ravage and steal the small farms of their food and animals and people to work as slaves for their own survival. The king believed he owned everything, from the giant's world above the clouds and the small people's world below the clouds. He was fat and glutinous and greedy. He was not going to worry about the famine as long as he, himself, had plenty of food no matter how it was obtained. Jack asked his father if growing was powerful. His father replied (I LOVE this because it is truly magical when you think about it):

"Very powerful...from one tiny seed you can grow a tree as big as the giants. Now that's magic if you ask me." (p. 235)

...he wasn't only talking about the growth of seeds, but also of the human spirit and many other things in life. So many positive lessons and an enjoyable read for the young and old.… (altro)