Calamity Jack

Hale, Shannon & Nathan Hale. Calamity Jack
Bloomsbury see St. Martins 2010 144p 14.99
978-1-59990-373-6 ms Graphic novel E-BN
In this exuberant sequel to Rapunzel’s Revenge, the Hales follow up with a fast-moving tale of how Jack became a “schemer,plotter, planner, and trickster.” The action is quick moving, the plot intricately paced, the characters engaging, and the witty repartee is sure to keep the readers involved. It combines the traditional fairy tales with the best of the Saturday morning cartoons into a truly enjoyable book.
In this exuberant sequel to Rapunzel’s Revenge, the Hales follow up with a fast-moving tale of how Jack became a “schemer,plotter, planner, and trickster.” In order to save his mother from the arduous tasks of baking bread, out of bones of course, for the local giant Blunderboar, Jack takes on a little more than he can handle. Those little beans he discovered looked so innocent when he planted one but, as in the original fairy tale, it grew to be an outsized plant. Nothing would do but for Jack to climb it and make off with Blunderboar’s golden goose. Caught in the act when the beanstalk comes crashing down, he must run for his life with the goose under his arm. While out West, he meets Rapunzel and after solving her problems, they return to Shyport to rescue Jack’s mother and set everything right again. Once more, nothing goes quite as planned. Blunderboar is running the city and it will be up to Jack, Rapunzel, a young newspaper man, and the pixie Pru to save the day.
This graphic novel will appeal to all middle school readers. The action is quick moving, the plot intricately paced, the characters engaging, and the witty repartee is sure to keep the readers involved. It combines the traditional fairy tales with the best of the Saturday morning cartoons into a truly enjoyable book.
Highly recommended for all middle school libraries. Ogintz, Susan Graphic novels