Traditional Tale

Jack and the Giant Barbecue-Eric A. Kimmel  

Kimmel, Eric. 2012. JACK AND THE GIANT BARBECUE. Ill. by John Manders. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Corp.  ISBN  97807614612899

The traditional Jack and the Beanstalk fairytale has been fractured by author Eric Kimmel and turned into a Texas size tale. After discovering that his father died as a result of a giant stealing his father’s recipe book, Jack decides to retrieve the book.  Jack climbs the mountains of West Texas until he “stepped onto the clouds”.  From there he followed the smell of barbeque until he found “Giant’s Barbeque”.  With the help of a talking jukebox, Jack keeps his word to get his Daddy’s recipe book or “never taste a bit of barbeque again.”  

Kimmel combines the genres of fairytale, pour quoi, and tall tale to create a fractured fairytale that is humorous and entertaining. Set in West Texas with barbecue shacks, a jukebox, and plenty of exaggeration, readers will finish this story craving barbecue.  A note from the author at the close of the story explains the author’s personal preference for Texas barbecue.  Although the characters are stereotypical of Texas culture, it melds well with the storyline and fits nicely into the Tall Tale genre. The giant, of course, is portrayed as a slob who can consume “two sides of beef, ten racks of ribs, and fifty feet of sausage” at one sitting.  Jack proves to be determined, but doesn’t think before acting.   

Manders’ use of colored pencil accents and highlights to create colorful, cartoonish pictures help set a comical tone for the storytelling.  Many of the pictures fit the stereotypical idea of a good Texas barbecue joint.  The Giant’s joint appears with hub cabs nailed to the wall, trash cans dumped over, and letters missing from the sign out front.  A picture of Giant “hotter than a pepper sprout” includes a red background with Giant clutching his head as a plume of smoke floats by.  Overall, the illustrations support the story and aid the reader in understanding the role of each character.

This story is a quick, fun read.  Anyone who has been to a Texas barbecue joint can appreciate the story.  People who have traveled through West Texas will appreciate the absurdity of mountains in West Texas. Readers who have never been to Texas might not be able to pick up on the subtle humor that can be found in the story line and illustrations, but could enjoy the new twist on a well known tale.

 Kirkus Review: "It's a rollicking adaptation, with many amusing tall-tale touches."

*Adapt another traditional tale by placing the setting in your community.
*Host a cultural cook-off by bringing a “family” dish to share.
*Create new cartoonish labels for a variety of sauces, and then give them as a gift.