You Don't Know Jack: A Storyteller Goes to School

“Jack and the Beanstalk,” “Little Jack Horner,” and “Jack the Giant Killer” are all famous tales and rhymes featuring the same hero, a character who often appears in legends, fairy tales, and nursery rhymes. Unlike moralizing fairy tale heroes, however, Jack is typically depicted as foolish or lazy, though he often emerges triumphant through cleverness and tricks.

With their roots traced back to England, Jack tales are an important oral tradition in Appalachian folklore. It was in his Appala...