Literary Classics at Taco Bell

Very recently McDonald's created some news with their Happy Meals featuring story books instead of their usual toys. For some this was like the first time there had ever been a book in a Happy Meal, but it reminded me of a time long ago when it was pretty common that books would make an appearance in a Kids Meal.

Over this past summer my brother and I went through a major overhaul of our parent’s garage. We do it every summer, but this last summer was special because we removed everything. As a result we found stuff that I had completely forgotten about, but was certainly thrilled to come across.

In the 80’s Taco Bell released a limited series of Fairy Tale Golden Junior Classics that featured the main story and a mini Fairy Tale at the end. The one I found from the attic was this release of Jack and the Beanstalk. I have always enjoyed fairy tales and this version of Jack and the Beanstalk was my very first introduction to the magic beans and everything.

On the inside cover, I apparently felt the need to place stickers on the inside. I did that a lot as a kid. Stickers were everything to me and I had no shame in placing them on just about anything.

The art work and font for the title has a nice look to it. I remember the images so much in this book and decided to share some of my favorite images!

Jack’s twisted house and sad looking cow was such a striking image for me. Everything looked fantastical and I just enjoy checking out the illustrations.

The magic beans on this page reminded me of Chiclets bubble gum pieces.

I so love looking at this sprawling image, because the colors are lush. The beanstalk feels real like at any moment it will grow off the page. I just love it.

Another page that I thoroughly enjoyed as a kid (and still do) is this one. The cook has all this movement in this image. Her face looks completely fearful and with the coloring there is just something unsettling about this image. Where did she come from? How does such a small woman cook with such a huge oven? These were the things I was concerned about with this image as well as a craving for bread. What is it about bread that makes everything better?

This next image always grossed me out as a kid. That ham looks disgusting. It’s dripping ham juice on the table and the giant looks like he’ll eat the ham and the cook at any moment. I like ham, don’t get me wrong, but this picture always felt gross to me.

I always wondered what it would be like to have a giant chasing me. There was so much about this story that had my little kid brain perplexed. How could a giant live in the clouds? How could he have a castle in the clouds? More importantly, what would it be like to literally climb a beanstalk to the sky? This story always had me thinking over the top on things.

One last final image from this story that always spoke to me was this final one of the giant falling down. Jack is chopping the beanstalk down while his mom looks on in horror. I felt sorry for the giant. I really did. Who wants to fall to their death from a beanstalk?

At the end of the Jack and the Beanstalk story, there was also an extra little mini fairy tale. The Princess and the Pea was another story that I had never read until this book, and I always felt like it was an interesting story.

I love this illustration so much. It looks so stunning and full of such grace. So the basic plot of the story is that a Prince is looking for love with a real Princess. Not some random princess, but a Princess. So this Princess shows up at the door and is like, “I’m a real princess.” And the Prince’s parents pull a trick on her to see if she is the real deal! That is so shady!

The trick involved placing a pea under twenty mattresses, and if the pea bothered the princess’s sleep, than she was the real deal. First off, I remember reading this and thinking, “If they were really meant to love each other, why did his parents have to test her like that?” Secondly, I was always terrified of sleeping in a bed with a pea in it for I thought I would be bruised and banged up from an uncomfortable night’s sleep. That is crazy.

The final picture was nothing but love and happiness. The real princess found her prince. At what price though? I feel like the queen and king made a fool out of her. This is why I was always iffy on this story. She proves she is a real princess by complaining that the bed wasn’t comfortable. If that’s all it takes to prove real royalty, than I know a ton of real princesses. I do love the artwork though.

Flipped over, this Taco Bell Golden Classic book shows off the retro Taco Bell logo. (I love this logo, even though I don’t really dine at Taco Bell much anymore.) There was also a list of the other books to collect. I have never read the other books in this series, but I do like this book. Although it is odd that there were only three books made, I feel like four would have been a nicer number.

So there you have it, a classic Kids Meal story. They have popped up every now and then. Does anyone have the other books in this series or even recall them? What about sleeping with a pea in the bed? Does that ever disrupt your sleep? I want to know! Take care everyone!