When Jack sells his family's cow for magic beans, his mother is anything but pleased. Soon, however, the beans sprout into a towering beanstalk. It leads to a castle filled with gold and other treasures. Jack's family will be rich, if he can sneak past the man-eating giant! Publishers learned a long time ago that they can make a quick buck off cheaply made retellings of classic (i.e.: out-of-copyright) fairy tales. As a result, librarians are automatically wary of a publisher who releases a spate of new fairy tale adaptations. Well, you don't have to be wary of these books. Stone Arch has put its best foot forward with this new line of graphic novel adaptations of fairy tales, books that succeed on every front. The ones I've listed above are my particular favorites, but I haven't seen a bad book in this new line. Cenicienta, a Spanish-language retelling of the familiar Cinderella story, is a fine example. The book is bound in a sturdy yet attractive library edition, and the high-quality paper makes the painted colors leap off the page, as for example in a panel featuring the brilliant glow from within a magical coach headed toward a certain legendary ball. The translations are also strong, with natural word choice and dialogue that pays attention to the nuances of class as the poor and the wealthy speak to one another. With these stylish new fairy tale adaptations, Stone Arch has reset the standard --"Teacher Librarian Magazine" Ricardo Tercio is a freelance illustrator from Lisbon, Portugal. He co-founded a production company and has made animation and videos for some of the top Portuguese musicians. Tercio also illustrated for large companies such as Hasbro toys. In 2007, he illustrated his first comic, Spider-Man Fairy Tales #1, for Marvel. Blake A. Hoena grew up in central Wisconsin, where he wrote stories about robots conquering the moon and trolls lumbering around the woods behind his parents house. He now lives in Minnesota and enjoys writing about fun things like history, space aliens, and superheroes. Blake has written more than fifty chapter books and dozens of graphic novels for children. Used Book in Good Condition