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Gina Kaminski Rescues the Giant

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Book Synopsis

Gina Kaminski is back in this empowering retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk that challenges the traditional narratives we are told, with a confident, autistic character at its heart.

Meet Gina Kaminski. She’s here to tell you three facts.

1. The story of Jack and the Beanstalk is FULL of BIG mistakes.
2. She has a plan to fix them.
3. Her plan does NOT involve magic beans (but there will be cake).

Gina is off to fairy tale land again, and this time she’s rescuing the giant! Just like the first book in this bold new series by Craig Barr-Green and Francis Martin, this is not your typical fairy tale as Gina takes the narrative lead and tells the story in her own distinctive way. With lovable narrator Gina Kaminski, this is the ideal book to empower every child to be the hero of their own story. Fans of fractured fairy tales like Little Red by Bethan Woollvin, and strong, character-led stories like Luna Loves Dance by Joseph Coelho and Fiona Lumbers and Look Up! by Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola will love Gina Kaminski Rescues the Giant.

Our Review Panel says...

Gina Kaminski is on a boring school trip to the museum so she goes to read a story, however, she is not happy with the story that she picks – Jack and the Beanstalk. She decides there are three major issues with the story and decides that the best thing to do would be to visit fairy tale land to fix it and therefore make the story better and save the giant. She then travels into fairy tale land and lives the story of Jack and the Beanstalk instead of Jack, making sure that she fixes the three mistakes that she has identified. Will she think that the story is better now? Will the giant’s fate remain the same?

The story of Gina Kaminski Rescues the Giant is one of the stories that follows neurodiverse main character Gina as she identifies mistakes and fixes them. Gina can struggle with communicating her emotions and has a card that helps her identify how she is feeling when things happen to her. Gina is a strong character who takes confidence in her actions and knows right from wrong and will fight for what she believes. The illustrations take on a simple cartoon style but are effective and add a depth to the story. This book would be perfect to use in EYFS and KS1 looking at an alternative telling of a traditional tale to spark other creative alternative fairy tales. It would also be a great resource to use for children who may struggle with recognising their emotions.