It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!
and the book:
Jackson Jones: The Tale of a Boy, an Elf, and a Very Stinky Fish
Zonderkidz (August 6, 2010)
***Special thanks to Pam Mettler of Zonderkidz for sending me a review copy.***
Jenn Kelly lives in Ottawa, Canada, but her heart lives in Paris. Or Hawaii. She hasnt decided yet. She is an undercover garden guru, painter, and chef, which has absolute nothing to do with this book. She won a writing award in grade 4, failed English Lit in university, spent many years writing bad poetry, and then decided to write a book. This is it. She is married to her best friend, Danny, and is mom to a five-year-old boy and a dog who worries too much. She embraces the ridiculousness and disorganization of life.
Visit the author’s website.
Ari has worked as a freelance illustrator for a variety of projects, mostly in childrens media. Her specialty is character design and she most enjoys illustrating humorous and wacky predicaments.
She studied editorial and childrens book illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and the DuCret School of Art in New Jersey. She uses a variety of media to create my images both traditional and digital.
Visit the illustrator’s website.
Product Details:
List Price: $12.99
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Zonderkidz (August 6, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0310720796
ISBN-13: 978-0310720799
PLEASE CLICK THE BROWSE INSIDE BUTTON TO VIEW THE FIRST CHAPTER: (actually it is the second image of the cover, the button is not showing up)
This has been our absolute favorite book of the year–maybe even ever (it is hard to get all of the children to agree, they will choose something something different just to be different). I read this aloud to all of the children (9 and younger) during our school time. My eldest daughter enjoyed the book and characters the most. She has even written her own stories furthering the adventures of some of her favorite characters. We were very excited to learn that this is book 1. There will be more-yay! The characters are well developed; the story moves at just the right pace. We loved how the narrator would speak to the reader. Since I was reading aloud, my children often thought I was adding these parts. I had to have them read some for themselves to prove it was not me. Explanations of some of the longer or harder words were written into the story–excellent for my struggling reader. There is not anything about this book we did not like. I would love to tell you everything, but I want you to read it for yourself. It is sure to be loved by your whole family, not just the intended audience.
There is even a Facebook page for The Tales of Jackson Jones–check it out!