Kirkus Reviews QR Code
THE BOOK THAT JACK WROTE by Jon Scieszka

THE BOOK THAT JACK WROTE

by Jon Scieszka & illustrated by Daniel Adel

Pub Date: Sept. 1st, 1994
ISBN: 0-670-84330-X
Publisher: Viking

Scieszka grabs a character from a nursery rhyme here, a nursery rhyme there, one from Lewis Carroll, still more from elsewhere, and builds them into a parfait of verse—a lyrical chaos of great beauty that eventually folds in upon itself, coming full circle. On each page a new line is added to the poem, and each page brings another knockout painting by Adel (some drawing inspiration from the same sources employed by Scieszka, such as Carroll's Tenniel), rendered with the touch of a brand- new old master. Not as nutty, but just as imaginative, as Scieszka's earlier efforts (The Stinky Cheese Man, 1992, etc.), with lots of references and subtleties that may take some explaining, as is the case with the paintings for that matter. But it's all pretty sensational on any level. This one will wow even the most sophisticated. (Picture book. 5+)