The Book that Jack Wrote - Hardcover

Scieszka, Jon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 067084330X ISBN 13: 9780670843305

Publisher: Viking Juvenile, 1994

Synopsis

In a witty send-up of classic children's verse, a cumulative poem follows the adventures of a rat, a cat, a pieman, a cow and a moon, an egg and a wall, and other familiar characters, all complemented by vivid oil paintings. BOMC.

About this title

About the Author:

Multiple award-winning author Jon Scieszka grew up in Flint, Michigan, the second oldest and the nicest of six boys. Jon went to school at Culver Military Academy in Indiana where he was a Lieutenant; Albion College in Michigan where he studied to be a doctor; and Columbia University in New York, where he received an M.F.A. in fiction. He taught elementary school in New York for ten years in a variety of positions. He is the author of many books for children including the New York Times Best Illustrated Book The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (illustrated by Lane Smith), the Caldecott Honor book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (illustrated by Lane Smith), and Math Curse (illustrated by Lane Smith).  In addition to his work as an author, Jon also runs a web-based literacy program called Guys Read” that is designed to encourage boys, particularly reluctant readers, to get involved with books. In 2008, Jon was named the country’s first National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, a joint effort of the Library of Congress and the Children’s Book Council. During his two-year role as Ambassador, he acted as a spokesperson for children’s literature, speaking to groups of parents, teachers, and children to encourage the importance of reading. You can visit Jon online at www.jsworldwide.com.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 1-6-An updated version of "This Is the House That Jack Built," this cumulative tale tells of a blind rat who falls into a picture in the book that Jack wrote, thus setting off a chain of events in which the players are done in one by one until nothing is left but the book itself. The characters are borrowed largely from children's literature-a grinning Cheshiresque cat, a cow jumping over the moon, a pieman at the fair, Humpty Dumpty, and the Mad Hatter-but they bear only a passing resemblance to their traditional forms. Cynical expressions followed by looks of terror are the order of the day as each character meets its fate. The text initially follows the rhythm of the original rhyme; however, as it progresses, the meter changes and the cadence becomes somewhat jarring. The dark tones of Adel's full-page oil paintings are a fine match for the irreverent mood of the piece. The humor comes from their surreal quality-distorted bodies sport extremely large heads. Not for the timid, they portray a cow's pronounced udder hovering over the dog's head, a baby getting "beaned" with a pie, and a man with a sadistic grin happily smashing an annoying bug. Featuring an even more twisted brand of humor than Scieszka's The Stinky Cheese Man (Viking, 1992), this work will serve as a fine introduction to parody for young creative writers.
Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, Wheeler School, Providence, RI
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking Juvenile
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 067084330X
• ISBN 13: 9780670843305
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Adel Dan