Clever Jack Takes the Cake

 by Candace Fleming

     This original fairy tale has a familiar theme. Jack, a poor boy, accidentally received an invitation to the princesses’ 10^th birthday. Unfortunately, Jack’s mother informed him that he would not be able to go, because he did not have a gift for the princess or the money with which to buy one. However, as indicated in the title, Jack was clever and did not let this discourage him. Jack decided to bake a cake for the princess. He bartered, bargained and traded until he had the ingredients for the cake, and even made the candles himself. After baking and decorating the cake, Jack headed off to the princesses birthday party, only to be met with a series of misfortunes along the way. He had to go through a scary forest, encountered a flock of blackbirds, a dancing bear, and a troll. Did Jack arrive at the princesses’ party with the cake intact? No, but he still had a gift to give her. Jack is an optimistic hero who looks on the bright side even when everything that can go wrong, does.

            This fairy tale might have a familiar theme, but it is well worth reading. I found that the word choices and pictures drew me into the engaging and humorous story and invited me to go along with Jack on his journey. The detailed gouache and pencil illustrations by G. Brian Karas added depth and meaning to the text. For example, although the text does not state that Jack’s invitation was a mistake, the illustration on the inside of the book cover shows the invitation blowing out of the messenger’s bag as he rides past Jack’s tiny cottage. Later in the tale, darker tones in the pictures of the dark woods Jack walked through, make the reader wonder what is about to happen. I highly recommend this story as a read-aloud for young children. There are some great places for dramatic narrating in this story. Clever Jack takes the Cake, received four starred book reviews and was named a Best Book of the Year by Booklist, School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and the Bank Street College of Education.

Source of book jacket image: barnesandnoble.com.

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