FIRST Wild Card Tour: Jackson Jones: The Tale of a Boy, an Elf, and a Very Stinky Fish

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!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Jenn Kelly

illustrated by:

Ariane Elsammak

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.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jenn Kelly lives in Ottawa, Canada, but her heart lives in Paris. Or Hawaii. She hasn’t 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 children’s media. Her specialty is character design and she most enjoys illustrating humorous and wacky predicaments.

She studied editorial and children’s 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:

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REVIEW:
This is a whimsical, funny children’s book (for ages 9-12 and any young-at-heart, fun-loving people). It takes you along on Jackson’s adventure in his Great-Aunt Harriett’s hair. Yes, it is wacky. It probably breaks oodles of grammar/writing rules. But it works. The author has a unique style of talking directly to the reader. So you’re keenly aware that you’re listening to someone telling you a story (as opposed to watching the action unfold on your own). She feels free to interrupt whenever and ask questions for you or address questions she thinks you might be having. (How did she know I was reading in bed at night?!?) A very cute/funny touch is the titles of the chapters and how weird some of the chapters are. I think she may have set a world record for the shortest chapter.

It’s...different. And it’s nice. (And I happen to think her writing style is temporarily rubbing off on me so if you don’t like the way this review is formatted or written...blame the book :).)

The author used the word “g-o-s-h” once. I don’t like any form of using God’s name in vain so that was somewhat disappointing.

But, besides that, this is a book that is easy to recommend because it is clean and silly. Who doesn’t need some silliness in their life now and then :)?