Jack

by Tomie dePaola, Tomie dePaola (Illustrator)

Overview

Beloved author-illustrator Tomie dePaola’s take on traditional “Jack tales”—in which a young hero ventures out to seek his fortune and gains it through luck or pluck—is perfect for preschoolers. His hero’s reward is a wealth of animal friends who increase in number—and volume—as the story progresses. When Jack sets out to see the world and find a place of his own, he’s surprised to attract a following of enthusiastic animal friends eager to join him on his quest. Jack and his entourage all have high hopes that they will find just what they are looking for as they travel on their merry way. Children will delight in the cumulative chorus of animal sounds as the pages get more and more crowded with the residents of this delightful kingdom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399161544
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/16/2014
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,143,687
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Tomie dePaola (www.tomie.com) is the acclaimed author and/or illustrator of more than 200 books for children. He has received the Children's Literature Legacy Award, a Newbery Honor for 26 Fairmount Avenue and a Caldecott Honor for Strega Nona. He was awarded the Smithson Medal, the Regina Medal, was designated a “living treasure” by the state of New Hampshire, and received the 2012 Original Art Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Society of Illustrators. He lives in New London, New Hampshire.

Hometown:

Connecticut and New Hampshire

Date of Birth:

September 15, 1935

Place of Birth:

Meriden, CT

Website:

http://www.tomie.com/main.html

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/19/2014
In this small treasure from master storyteller dePaola, a young man named Jack is seen in a half-timbered house, a quill and a candle on the desk behind him. His direct gaze and tranquil half-smile give him the air of a medieval saint. “Grandpa,” he says, “I want to see the world and make new friends and live in a house in the city.” “Why don’t you go to the city and ask the king?” Grandpa suggests kindly. Jack sets off, meeting a series of animals who ask him where he’s going. “We’re going to the city to ask the king for a house,” he tells each one in traditional fairy tale style. Before long he’s assembled a riotous, Bremen Town Musician–like group of animals who moo, bah, oink, and whoo all the way to the city. Their cries, carved on rubber stamps, are scattered on the pages, creating the visual equivalent of a cheerful din. And because it’s a fairy tale, the king gives them a house big enough for everyone. As a bonus, many spreads hide scenes from familiar nursery rhymes, adding to the book’s readaloud charm. Ages 3–5. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

* “[A] small treasure from master storyteller dePaola. . . . Before long he’s assembled a riotous, Bremen Town Musician–like group of animals who moo, bah, oink, and whoo all the way to the city. Their cries, carved on rubber stamps, are scattered on the pages, creating the visual equivalent of a cheerful din. . . . As a bonus, many spreads hide scenes from familiar nursery rhymes, adding to the book’s readaloud charm.” — Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

“DePaola’s trademark illustrations are warmly inviting and feature many nursery-rhyme characters in the backgrounds. . . . Preschoolers will root for the plucky hero as he pursues his dreams and eagerly chime in with the pleasing repetitive phrases.” — School Library Journal

“A new tale from dePaola is always a reason to cheer, and this riff on “Jack” tale variants will bring smiles. . . . Repeated rubber stamps of each animal’s sound (and individualized colors) add zip (and noise) to dePaola’s signature style and palette. . . . Everyone will enjoy the fun.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Clever riff on a traditional story motif. . . . dePaola embellishes his story with rich visual detail, including vividly colored printed sound effects . . . which afford a visual representation of the burgeoning cacophony. . . . There is an added depth to dePaola’s recognizable style, with a combination of subtly varied textures and brilliant color . . . giving the outing a traditional grounding and a contemporary flair. There goes the neighborhood, and it never looked better.” — Booklist

“Young children will like the simple pattern of the story as well as the cumulating sound effects. . . . DePaola dresses the journey in his most sumptuous colors. . . . Storytime audiences will enjoy the trip as well as the sly cameo appearances by nursery-rhyme favorites.” — The Horn Book

From the Publisher

Young children will like the simple pattern of the story as well as the cumulating sound effects. . . . DePaola dresses the journey in his most sumptuous colors. . . . Storytime audiences will enjoy the trip as well as the sly cameo appearances by nursery-rhyme favorites.

The Horn Book

Clever riff on a traditional story motif. . . . dePaola embellishes his story with rich visual detail, including vividly colored printed sound effects . . . which afford a visual representation of the burgeoning cacophony. . . . There is an added depth to dePaola’s recognizable style, with a combination of subtly varied textures and brilliant color . . . giving the outing a traditional grounding and a contemporary flair. There goes the neighborhood, and it never looked better.

Booklist

2014-06-10
A new tale from dePaola is always a reason to cheer, and this riff on “Jack” tale variants will bring smiles.In this cumulative folk tale, Jack lives on a tiny farm with his grandpa. He tells his grandpa that he wants new friends and to live in the city, and off he goes. Along the way, he encounters a series of animals that join him on the journey—11 to be exact. Chick, duck, goose, dog, frog, pig, cow, cat, sheep, horse and owl (and a crow that’s unmentioned in the text but nevertheless makes a lot of noise) parade along behind Jack to the king’s castle. When Jack requests a house in the city for him and his friends, the king says he has a perfect house, though it “might need some fixing up.” The decrepit, boarded-up building makes that quite an understatement, but Jack and company tackle the rehab with gusto. Voilà, a bright fuchsia house with a window for each of the animals. DePaola eschews a traditional happily-ever-after ending with tongue-in-cheek comments from an old man and old woman: He grumbles, “There goes the neighborhood.” And she chuckles, “It’s about time!” Repeated rubber stamps of each animal’s sound (and individualized colors) add zip (and noise) to dePaola’s signature style and palette.Adults who have been through the ordeal of a fixer-upper may appreciate the ending more than kids, but everyone will enjoy the fun. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews