Jack and the Animals [Hardcover]

Donald Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 19, 2005 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

When Jack leaves his Appalachian home to seek his fortune, he finds it in a roundabout way. Along the way he assembles a group of traveling companions that includes a dog, a cat, a rooster, a donkey, and a cow. As night falls and they grow hungry, they come upon an abandoned farmhouse ... Or is it?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2?An Appalachian variant of the Grimms' "The Bremen Town Musicians." A grandmother takes her grandchildren on a mountain picnic and tells them the tale of a boy named Jack adopted five elderly creatures that helped him outwit some robbers and gain a fortune. Davis uses simple language, actions, and sounds to create images of each animal. Harvill's watercolor illustrations feature pastoral landscapes and warm colors, as well as closeups, exaggerated features, and skewed angles. The last picture helps provide closure, as it shows Grandmother finishing her story with the shadows of Jack and his friends parading off the side of the page in the background. The reteller includes a source note and encourages children to retell the story in their own way. This book serves a younger audience than Richard Chase's Jack Tales (Houghton, 1943).?Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 3^-7. In this Appalachian version of "The Bremen Town Musicians," Jack stops his search for a fortune after hearing a cow's "Moo-hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo." When the sad cow explains that she is too old to have milk, Jack suggests that she accompany him. As his journey progresses, he encounters other weeping animals, and when the new friends work together to defeat a group of robbers, their fortune is made. Children will delight in the way Davis uses animal and crying sounds in the story. A few double-page spreads composed of different scenes may be confusing, but kids will like the riotous paintings, especially those depicting what the robbers think they see. Harvill avoids anthropomorphizing, yet still manages to give her animals lively personalities; her human characters are less successfully captured. Source notes are included, along with Davis' suggestion that the story be told using one's own words to "help keep the oral tradition alive." Susan Dove Lempke

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: August House (December 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874834139
• ISBN-13: 978-0874834130
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,705,940 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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