Spring-Heeled Jack [Paperback]

Philip Pullman (Author)

Book Description

A hilarious tale of bravery and evil, set in Victorian London and told partly in strip-cartoon form. Three orphaned children are being pursued by the evil Mack the Knife, but Spring-heeled Jack is hot on his trail. The author's other books include "How to be Cool" and "The Ruby in the Smoke".

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"The wisps of fog were whisked aside, and the girls looked up at the stars and saw--The devil? Well, if he wasn't the devil, then who the devil was he?" Philip Pullman can sure tell a story. Spring-Heeled Jack, originally published years ago in the U.K., is an over-the-top Victorian romp in the boisterous vein of the master storyteller's Count Karlstein and I Was a Rat. All the ingredients for an edge-of-seat page-turner are here: three hapless orphans; the brandy-swigging Mr. Killjoy and his horrible assistant, Miss Gasket, at the Alderman Cawn-Plaster Memorial Orphanage; and the greedy, murderous Mack the Knife who awaits them in the dank city of London. Of course, this is no bad-luck Lemony Snicket tale. There's a superhero named Spring-Heeled Jack to save the day! Pullman is at his tongue-in-cheek best here, telling half the happy-ending tale with a sooty, dramatic Dickensian spin, and the other half with David Mostyn's artful cartoons, undercutting the mock-heavy-handed drama at every turn. Readers will find plenty of Pullman's characteristic wit and wordplay amid the nonstop, rip-roaring adventure. Excellent! (Ages 8 to 14) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Several novels make a welcome reappearance. Spring-Heeled Jack (first published in the U.S. in 1991) by Whitbread Award-winning author Philip Pullman, illus. by David Mostyn, tracks the Victorian hero's attempts to save three orphans alone on the streets of London. Comic book-style illustrations are interspersed throughout.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Yearling Books (April 25, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440862299
• ISBN-13: 978-0440862291
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,241,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All's well that ends well., May 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Spring-Heeled Jack (Hardcover)

I've just finished reading it to my 6 and 8 year olds. "Read, read," they roared when I threatened to stop and put them to bed. With some of the narrative drive of Raold Dahl, Pullman leavens his darkness with a brilliant combination of cheeky humor, self-satire, post modern machinations all set in a Dickensian London. My only complaint: the kids were so excited they couldn't fall asleep. Me too.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't "Spring" high enough, October 29, 2002

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spring-Heeled Jack (Hardcover)

It's a Dickensian Batman, a Victorian Superman. Up on the roof: It's a bird! It's a cat! It's Spring-Heeled Jack, the devil-costumed defender of truth and justice. Unfortunately, while Jack has some intriguing possibilities, they're never used enough in this lackluster little novel.

Rose, Lily and Ned have escaped from the rotten orphanage (their mom is dead and their father is missing), with plans to sell a valuable locket and travel to America. But they are attacked by Mack the Knife, "the most evil villain in London," who kidnaps Ned. Lily and Rose are rescued by a mysterious figure who resembles the devil. But it's not a devil, it's Spring-Heeled Jack, who perkily informs them, "I'm good. I catch villains. I avenge wrongs. I do all kinds of stuff." (But does he slice, dice, and freshen your breath while you sleep?)

Jack takes Lily and Rose to his friend Polly, unaware that the sinister boss and amoral old maid from the orphanage are after the three children, intending to steal the locket as well. Will Spring-Heeled Jack rescue the incredibly outspoken Ned from a gang of thugs? Will he rescue the girls from Mr. Killjoy and Miss Gimlet?

One of the problems with "Spring-Heeled Jack" is the narrative. It's split between comic-strip-style cartoons and regular text -- and unfortunately neither the text or the cartoons can stand alone in telling the story. This jarring transition might be exciting for very young children, especially if a parent is reading the story out loud, but older kids will probably find it jarring. And unfortunately while corny dialogue can be stomached in the cartoon format, the regular narrative just makes it sound trite.

This cutesy arrangement also harms the characters, as every one of them is essentially a stereotype except Spring-Heeled Jack himself. There are the kindly young lovers, the evil orphanage owners, the unusually patient murdering robbers, the loyal pooch and the plucky preteens. With the exception of a very witty cartoon kitchen cat, Jack himself is the only interesting character in the bunch. He's also the most underexposed, since he is present perhaps a fourth of the time that the bland Polly is.

Fans of Philip Pullman's charming "I Was A Rat!" and "Firework-Maker's Daughter" will be disappointed in this calculatedly cutesy tale. One to pass by.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun story for kids and adults alike., June 25, 2009

By 

Monchin - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Spring-Heeled Jack (Paperback)

This book is a fun, Victorian sort of superhero tale. It's not a long book at all, but that seems like it would be perfect for young readers. I like that some parts of the dialogue are done in comic form, and that there are little funny illustrations on a lot of the pages. I thought that was a great idea, and well-executed. The story is simple, three orphans trying to escape from their dodgy wardens and get on a ship to America. I like that you never find out very much about Spring-Heeled Jack, even at the end of the book, which means that the character still has a lot of mystery to him. I feel like this character could easily become part of a series, and I hope that Pullman will consider writing more adventures for Spring-Heeled Jack.