Bedtime Stories: Keeping Jack And The Beanstalk Exciting After 5,000 Years 

Are your preschoolers zoning out during story time at home? Are you hoping to get them more excited about books?

Look no further than the podcast series Book Monsters – Bedtime Stories. In each episode, Kiss92 comes together with an EtonHouse Community Fund Volunteer to discuss various ways you can liven up your reading. The series is supported by the Singapore Women’s Weekly.

In the first episode, we learned a variety of ways to engage the little ones with Goldilocks and the Three Bears. In this follow-up episode, Kiss92’s Glenn Ong puts his reading chops to the test with a rendition of Jack and the Beanstalk.

If your memory’s rusty, this classic tale is about a poor country boy Jack who sold his family cow for some magic beans. The beans grew into a massive beanstalk that reached into the clouds, where Jack encountered a frightening giant.

Hear Glenn Ong’s reading of Jack and the Beanstalk where he is joined by Thomas, an EtonHouse Community Fund Volunteer to delve into the history of the story.

According to some researchers, this classic tale might have its roots some (gasp!) 5,000 years ago. However, the version we are familiar with today most likely started out as The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean, published in the 1700s—still pretty old.

For today’s children who are spoilt for choice when it comes to literature, is it possible to make an ancient story like Jack and the Beanstalk relevant and interesting? The answer is a resounding yes. Here’s how.

Don’t be afraid of getting silly (02:57 to 03:44)

Changing up your voice for different characters is a simple way to jazz things up. The children will be engaged in the fact that you’re doing something a little bit funny or different here, Thomas assures, particularly to those who are nervous about reading. He adds, “The children are going to remember so much more than these little idiosyncrasies. Just pick up that book and give it a go.”

Have fun with the sounds (7:56 to 8:35 and 13:28 to 14:29)

Hear ‘fee-fi-fo-fum’ and the image of an angry ogre immediately comes to mind—such is the power of repetition. It’s a way children make sense of the noises they hear and also contributes to early language acquisition, explains Thomas. 

There are other opportunities to explore this further. Depending on the version of your story, you might encounter words like “thwack” for instance (when Jack cuts the beanstalk). It’s an old-fashioned onomatopoeia—meaning a word that sounds like the noise it describes. Get your kid to suggest another word or sound to use in place to get a discussion going.

Look for different versions of the same story (10:40 to 11:28)

It’s fascinating to see how different versions affect our interpretations of the story and to see where our sympathies lie, says Thomas. For instance, does your child think Jack is smart in this particular story? Or does she sympathise with the giant for having to put up with the intruder? 

Get your child to predict the ending (12:14 to 12:42)

If it’s the first time junior’s being read the story, get his or her opinion at the point when Jack is running away to freedom. “Predictions at this point can be valuable. We learn what the listener has taken in so far and whether they have engaged with the story,” shares Thomas.

You can catch new episodes of the podcast series Book Monsters – Bedtime Stories every Thursday on Google Podcasts, Spotify or Awedio.