Jack and the Meanstalk

In their fifth collaboration, the British team revisits the famous beanstalk for a postmodern, politically correct fable. Professor Jack, a scientist, makes the mistake of messing with Mother Nature. In an effort to speed the growth of his garden, he concocts a chemical fertilizer, but the experiment runs awry when a ``meanstalk'' stoked on steroids bursts through his laboratory rooftop into the ozone. Soon, the fearsome foliage begins to block the sun. A number of story elements--including a media blitz and a monster from outerspace--are yanked from the plot in a sorely anticlimactic conclusion. But the psychedelic, Pucci-esque illustrations more than compensate: kaleidoscopic patterns blast off of the best pages. Brian Wildsmith, a recipient of the Kate Greenaway Medal, and his daughter create a candyland world, where Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band would feel right at home. Ages 4-8. (May)