The Story of the Jack O'Lantern

by Katherine Tegen, Brandon Dorman (Illustrator)

Overview

On Halloween night, we dress up in costumes, go trick-or-treating, and carve jack-o'-lanterns. But what is really behind these holiday traditions?

It all started with a greedy man named Jack, who made a pact with the wrong person. When it comes time for Jack to repay his debt, the deal doesn't quite end as he expected. . . .

Katherine Tegen weaves together legend and tradition to tell the story of one of Halloween's most popular icons. With vibrant and dazzling illustrations from Brandon Dorman, The Story of the Jack O'Lantern answers one of the mysteries of that spooky night.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061430886
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	07/27/2010
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 8 Years

About the Author

Katherine Tegen has been writing stories since she was ten years old. She has always loved celebrating holidays and anything to do with magic. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Story of the Easter Bunny, illustrated by Sally Anne Lambert and praised by School Library Journal: "This visually splendid story with folktale rhythms makes a good choice for holiday sharing." She lives in New York City.

Brandon Dorman lives in Puyallup, Washington, and is the creator of Pirates of the Sea! and Santa's Stowaway, and the illustrator of Jack Prelutsky's Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face, as well as Halloween Night, by Marjorie Dennis Murray.

Editorial Reviews

In this jack-o'-lantern origin tale, miserly Jack makes a deal with a cloven-hoofed stranger. When the man returns for his payback, he throws a burning coal at Jack, hitting Jack's pumpkin and creating "the beginnings of a smile." Condemned to forever walk the earth, disgruntled Jack watches a boy in a modern neighborhood place a jack-o'-lantern in a window. Dorman's cinematic scenes and Tegen's matter-of-fact prose ("On Halloween, some people believe ghosts and spooks will leave their graves and wander the earth again") provide genuine chills. Ages 3–8. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly