Kate and the Beanstalk

Mary Pope Osborne pulls off the harder trick in feminist retellings: Kate feels genuinely resourceful and courageous rather than preachy, and the story doesn't announce its own virtue. Giselle Potter's folk-art illustrations are inventive and capture the vertical drama of the beanstalk world beautifully. Publishers Weekly called it 'spunky' and parents have made it a household staple — that dual endorsement tells you it works on both the library shelf and the bedtime read-aloud.