Jack and the Wild Life

Reviewed by: Sheila Dube - Springvale Public Library, Springvale, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: May 5, 2015

Review

Jack and his distracted, irresponsible parents are back for another comical, fast-paced adventure in this second in the series. This time Jack is pulled into a get-rich-scheme by his parents that take them to Africa. Along the way, Jack must resort to a few survival techniques. Readers will enjoy the dark humor of Jack being the parent to his clueless and careless parents. The book's content is deceptively mature in both reference and vocabulary. For example, in downtown Nairobi, "Hawkers peddled cigarettes and gum. A man with sharp shins sat cross-legged next a wooden box overflowing with dried herbs". (p. 26) Immigration, parental instincts, and Tanzania elevate the text. Then there is the bull in "musth" which is defined for the reader as "a periodic condition resulting in highly aggressive behavior, thought to be caused by hormonal fluctuations" (p. 40). One suggestion for future installments would be to identify the first chapter as a preface. New chapter book readers will be surprised to find that the first chapter is 2 pages of text with a full page illustration, but that subsequent chapters are 10-12 pages in length with illustrations. The layout provides chapter headings foreshadowing the action and Stevanovic's full-page stylized cartoon black & white illustrations provide detail to the text.

Overall Book Score: very good