Beanstalk

What if Jack didn't climb up the beanstalk?Riffing off the old familiar fairy tale, Beanstalk is a middle-grade contemporary fantasy adventure. When Jackie's dog disappears down a mysterious hole drilled by a supercharged beanstalk, he and his friend Pete set out to find him. The pair--one the new kid in town the other a misfit who befriends him--become ensnared by the beanstalk and are carried to a strange underground world called Ondergrondse. Here they meet three kindly fairies, one persuasive gnome, a beautiful princess, and a giant, angry ogre.The boys learn that, as per an ancient prophecy, they've been lured here for a reason that doesn't include finding their dog. They must foil a plot to deny a princess her rightful place on the throne. They have to convince her to go with them to the only place she will be safe--their Connecticut home, in a world known to the inhabitants of Ondergrondse as Upworld. To do so, they will have to overcome many challenges.

-- Linda Nosul and Catherine Travers