J is for Jack Tales of Bravery and Courage

"Every Hero Has A Story." My Blogging From A to Z theme bridges the summer library reading programs throughout the U.S. with storytelling opportunities, ideas, and activities.

Illustration is linked to a clever rendition of Jack and the Beanstalk

The Jack Tales came from the oral tradition - not books. These tales are alive and well today. The Jack I'm talking about is the same Jack that climbed the beanstalk. The great news is that there are so many more tales of Jack seeking his fortune, taking care of him mom, and trying to better himself and his family. Jack is kind and clever (yet naïve , always completes his tasks - usually three, receives some type of magic to help him out along the way, and is always rewarded in one way or another. 

Author, Richard Chase, discovered Jack Tales in the spring of 1935 through Marshall Ward, a young man at the time who heard Chase speak in North Carolina about folksongs to a group of teachers. Here's the dialog:

"I don't know whether you'd be interested or not," he said to me afterward, "but my folks know a lot of old stories that have been handed down from generation to generation like you were saying about the old songs."
"What sort of stories are they?"
"They're mostly about a boy named Jack, and his two brothers, Will and Tom."
"Is that the same boy who climbed a beanstalk?"
"We call that one 'Jack and the Bean Tree.'"
"And did he kill a lot of other giants besides that one up the bean tree?"
"Yes, the time he hired out to the King to clear a patch of new ground. But we don't tell any of the tales the same way you read them in books."
"Can you tell them?"
"I can; but I don't like to unless there are a lot of kids around."
"Who did you learn them from?"
"From my father and Uncle Mon-roe."
"Where did they learn them?"
"From Old Counce Harmon. He was my great-grandfather."
"How many do they know to tell?"
"About two dozen-Jack Tales and others."

Quote source: The Jack Tales by Richard Chase, 1943. (pp. vii-viii)

Favorite Jack Tales? I thought I knew my favorites but then I began reading them over again and I've got to say I love them all. Right now, my favorites are:

1. Hardy Hard Head found in Richard Chase's The Jack Tales
2. Jack and the North West Wind
3. Jack and the Haunted House (recording)
4. Jack and the Beanstalk
5. Jack and the Varmits

Resources

The Folklore Tradition of Jack Tales- interesting information about the Jack Tales

Creative animated story of Jack and the Beanstalk
 
Anndrena Belcher telling the tale of Hardy Hard Head (Jack Tale)

The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship (A Russian tale quite similar to Hardy Hard Head) - Robin Williams narrates a version of this tale below:

Jack and the Beanstalk. Website of illustration is linked.