Few story spoilers below:
While the retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk has been done before, A Home in the Sky (Twicetold Tales) is a slightly older version and has a few modern touches. Olivia Snowe has a series of different fairy tales/legends and made them for a today’s audience, but also kept the original feeling (or at least with this one, which I believe is Snowe’s first).
I have read reviews that said Jack was 11-years-old. I either missed that or people are assuming due to the classic telling. I was figuring he was at least 13 to around 15. Granted, he is young in mentality and personality, but he also gave off this older vibe. The story itself, as I said, sticks close to the original, with things being pretty straight forward, Jack and Mom are poor, Jack is conned out of his bike (not a cow, but it is more important as it gets him to and from school, allows him to do his paper route), he gets the beans (from a really sketchy looking guy in a sketchy alley, in the sketchy neighborhood Jack and Mom live in), beans grow into a beanstalk, Jack climbs up, steals stuff, they move to a nicer home and almost live happily ever after. It is only much later they realize they are thieves (though Jack still tries to pass it off as magic) they try to make amends, but the giant is a real villain and nothing happens to Jack or mom really. Okay, that’s that.
What I really liked (and gives the rating of 3 as the story is a 2) is the mostly black/white/gray illustrations of Michelle Lamoreaux. They are simple, but have a little kick. The only color is the use of red. It is well placed as it is the jacket of Jack and therefore highlights him. This does give things an interesting look and makes me curious about others in the series.
A Home in the Sky
Cassie and the Woolf
The Girl and the Seven Thieves
The Sealed-Up House
Beauty and the Basement
Hansen and Gracie
Dandelion and the Witch
The Glass Voice
Some seem to be out of print, but I am sure your local library could find you a copy (as did mine).