Clever Jack Takes the Cake

by Candace Fleming, G. Brian Karas (Illustrator)

Overview

Take a bite out of this deliciously funny original fairy tale, which received four starred reviews and was named a Best Book of the Year by Booklist, School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and the Bank Street College of Education.

What would you do if you were invited to the princess’s tenth birthday party but didn’t have money for a gift? Well, clever Jack decides to bake the princess a cake.

Now he just has to get it to the castle in one piece. What could possibly go wrong?

Candace Fleming and G. Brian Karas, creators of the bestselling picture book Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!, have teamed up again to bring us a modern fairy tale starring a determined boy and a story-loving princess with a good sense of humor. While girls will fall for a story featuring a princess’s birthday party, Jack’s adventures with trolls, bears, and gypsies make this the perfect read for young boys as well—and ideal for storytime.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593813515
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	11/12/2024
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 10.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Candace Fleming is the clever author of The Great and Only Barnum, a Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year; The Lincolns, a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winner and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; and Ben Franklin’s Almanac and Our Eleanor, both ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Books. Her books also include Imogene’s Last Stand, Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!, Gabriella’s Song, and the Aesop Elementary School series. She lives in Oak Park, Illinois. You can visit her at www.candacefleming.com.

G. Brian Karas is the prolific, versatile, and acclaimed illustrator of many books for children, including How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara, winner of a Christopher Award; Are You Going to Be Good? by Cari Best, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book; Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming, an ALA-ALSC Notable Book; and Home on the Bayou: A Cowboy’s Story, which he also wrote and which received the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. He lives in New York’s Hudson Valley. Visit him at www.gbriankaras.com.

Editorial Reviews

Starred Review, Booklist, July 2010:
"An original fairy tale that has the makings of a story-hour classic. . . This standout picture book emphasizes resourcefulness and the power and pleasure of a well-told tale."

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, July 2010:
"The simple-but-expressive, cartoonish illustrations on textured paper and the delightfully clever design further distinguish this cheerful charmer."

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, July 19, 2010:
The creators of Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! celebrate storytelling with a sparkling specimen of that very thing. . .With muted tones and subtle textures, the pictures capture the tale's humor and Jack's earnest nature."

Starred Review, School Library Journal, July 2010:
This entertaining adventure is packed with action. Karas's schratchy gouache and pencil cartoon illustrations are as detail-rich as the text itself."

From the Publisher

Gr 3—A poor boy named Jack who helps a princess is a familiar trope in folklore. In this original tale, Jack accidentally receives an invitation to the princess's birthday party. He resourcefully gathers ingredients and bakes a wonderful cake. On his way to the castle, the cake is slowly demolished by crows, a troll, a spooky forest, a dancing bear, and even a palace guard, until the only present Jack has to offer the princess is the story of the cake's demise. Of course, this gift pleases her much more than the boring rubies and tiaras brought by richer guests, and she declares that her new friend will have the honor of cutting the royal cake. This entertaining adventure is packed with action. Karas's scratchy gouache and pencil cartoon illustrations are as detail-rich as the text itself. From the sly bear to the bored princess, the expressions are priceless. The endpapers provide context not included in the text: a party invitation blowing from the messenger's bag and under Jack's door at the beginning, and Jack regaling a fascinated princess with more tales at the end. A solid choice for most collections, and a good storytime choice, despite the smallish illustrations.—Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL

School Library Journal

A winsome gouache-and-pencil landscape sets the stage--a hilltop castle, a messenger on horseback, an escaped letter fluttering under the door of a humble cottage. Young Jack, poor as dust, finds this mysterious missive--the king's invitation to attend his daughter's tenth birthday festivities. The boy bakes a cake for the princess, topping it proudly with the "reddest, juiciest, most succulent strawberry in the land," and his obstacle-ridden journey to her party the next day forms the core of this jaunty, well-told tale. Of the whole cake, only the strawberry survives the trip past thieving blackbirds, a greedy troll, whispering woods and a ravenous-yet–fruit-despising bear. When the princess's guard eats even that, however, all the perpetually undaunted Jack has left to offer the birthday girl is an elaborate account of his adventure. She loves it (and him) most of all, proving that the gift of story is better than rubies, especially if the story has a troll. The simple-but-expressive, cartoonish illustrations on textured paper and the delightfully clever design further distinguish this cheerful charmer. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews