Jasper: Jasper's Beanstalk

Product Information

This beautifully illustrated non-fiction book is a perfect introduction to the genre for beginning readers. You are permitted to print, display, alter, transform or add to the digital version of the resource as long as it is not for commercial purposes. The story is about Jasper the cat, who finds a bean on Monday, plants it on Tuesday and continues 'looking after it' until the following Monday when he digs it up believing it will never grow.

He worked for various major graphic design companies before becoming a full-time author and illustrator. Regardless, the book's message seemed to come across well when it came to planting out own seed in a cup.The illustrations are charming and simple, but with enough going on to draw interest and support questioning of the book. Jasper’s Beanstalk by Nick Butterworth is a well-known story that is has been very popular with children of all ages for many years. One of the most useful areas of the story though is the message about patience, Jasper gives up very quickly and a discussion about this could prove interesting with EYFS children. The story reinforces the days of the week which is also great for sequencing events, questioning and predicting the events of the story.

Jasper wants to plant his own bean; the story goes through the different days of the week, showing what happens to Jasper's bean each day. It was nice by the end of the book that there was a question mark as to what Jasper would find up the beanstalk. I also enjoyed reading this book because it ended with Jasper looking for giants on the beanstalk which could lead to the story of Jack and the Beanstalk then being read to the children.I read the book as a way of introducing the topic of planting and growing to the class, in the lesson the children went on to growing their own seeds, just like Jasper. Art - Get the children to paint their favourite part in the story, let the children paint or draw flowers or plants from close observation of the items. Also the concept of measuring and the mathematical language can be taught through such as the bean stalk is growing bigger, taller and they can measure it.