When vegetables don't grow quickly enough, what's a gardener to do? If he's a scientist like Professor Jack, he goes into his laboratory and starts experimenting. But Professor Jack certainly didn't mean to concoct a plant that shoots through the roof and into the sky, menacing humans and animals alike. Now it's up to the animals to invent a simple, brilliant plan to stop Professor Jack's meanstalk and save their homes. Brian Wildsmith and his daughter Rebecca Wildsmith have collaborated on a gracefully told fairy tale for today, with brilliantly colored paintings and a simple text that conveys a timely reminder that it's living beings, not technology, that ensure the earth's well-being.