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Title: Jack and the Box (Toon Books) (Toon)
ISBN: 0979923832
Author:
Art Spiegelman
Publicate Date: 2008-10-21
Publish: 2008-10-21
List Price: $12.95
Average Customer Rating: 3.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $4.14
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $4.15
Amazon Merchant Price: $10.15
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Picture if you will...
Having been impressed and moved by Maus: A Survivor's Tale, I tried hard to like this latest by author Art Spiegelman. It is supposed to be "A first comic for brand-new readers," but it would have given me nightmares when I was young.
The story: The parents of a young bunny named Jack give him a star-covered box as a present. He tries to open it, but apparently the insane-faced jack-in-the-box inside decides for itself when it wants to pop out. Jack is so startled when this happens that he jumps into his mom's arms. His parents just laugh, saying the toy is silly. Throughout the book, the toy -- named Zack -- has a mind of its own, arguing with Jack, laughing at him. At one point Jack discovers that Zack has come out of its box, and is sitting on the bedroom dresser. Zack then causes other toys from the box to invade and wreck Jack's room.
Wasn't this a Twilight Zone episode?
As a child I had this dread that my toys would start talking to me. The idea that they would come to life and start doing things on their own gave me nightmares. This book is my nightmare come to creepy life. I would NEVER read this to a child.
It's a shame, because the book is printed beautifully, with high-quality paper. It's a charming-looking little book. Just beware what's inside!
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2: Familiar Toy vs 'Silly' Story
When we think of the Jack in the Box toy, we have memories of a fun toy that you wind up and get surprised when it finally pops out of the box. There's no secret there...the toy is definitely going to pop out of the box. Then you push it down and play it again and again. But what if Jack in the Box didn't work that way?
The book, "Jack and the Box," by Art Spiegelman, takes a new twist on an old toy idea. The character in the book, a bunny named Jack, is given a toy by his parents. When he first sees it pop out of the box, he's very surprised and a bit scared. After he realizes the toy (named Zack), has a mind of its own, he gets angry at it because it doesn't want to play (it doesn't want to play?!). After Zack the toy scares Jack a few more times, things get even more strange.
On a positive note, we think this book is imaginative, creative, and easy for young readers to practice. But because of the creepiness factor of the "silly toy's" behavior, dialogue and illustrations, we feel that this story may actually scare some younger children. That's not to say that others won't enjoy the book -- parents, you know your child best...use your best judgement before deciding to read this book with your child. Some of us actually got a sinister feeling after reading the book -- the toy is playing with the boy, instead of the boy playing with the toy... We're sure the point of this book is to just be "silly," but for young children we prefer more light-hearted stories and those with an actual purpose.
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3: The New Coke of Children's Literature
Art Spiegelman is best known as the Pulitizer Prize winning writer and artist of the fantastic graphic novel Maus: A Survivor's Tale, which tells his family's story from the holocaust in terms of cartoon mice and cats. I've read that book, as well as some of Spiegelman's more recent work, including his contributions to McSweeney's Issue 13 and his problematic but fascinating graphic novel about Septemeber 11,In the Shadow of No Towers.
This book, which is described on the cover as "a first comic for brand-new readers" is worlds apart from his other work. Only the distinctive drawing style marks this as work from the same artist. This book is a simple children's story of a young child who recieves a jack in the box that is more than a little reminiscent of Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat.
As a book for new readers, I showed this to my wife who is a literacy teacher for elementary school students and has extensive training and experience in the area. She had two main criticisms: first, the illustrations are too boring for children to be engaged in the story. Second, the names of two characters, Jack & Zack, are too similar are will confuse new readers. She also commented that the story was too simple, even for a book designed for new readers. She said that it would be more appropriate for 3 year-olds and younger.
Myself, I agreed with her that the story & illustrations were very boring, with the majority of the book being simply Jack & Zack sitting still and conversing. The writing is clearly meant to be reminiscent of Dr. Seuss, but without the entertaining and creative rhyming schemes. The illustrations are overly sparse, except for the climax of the book, when the illustrations finally take on some life and creativity. Unfortunately, this is brief and long in coming.
As much as I would love to say that Art Spiegelman has reinvented himself as a successor to Dr. Seuss, this book cannot hold a candle to the master. Stick with the classics; even though you've heard them a million times your kids haven't, and they will love them much more than this.
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4: Silly, perhaps, but not witty
I've never been a great fan of Art Spiegelman in his adult incarnation, and this children's book by the famous cult graphic novelist suffers from some of the same heavy-handed flatness that flaws his adult work. This little 32-page story of Jack (the rabbit) and Zack (the jack-in-the-box) owes a good deal plot-wise to Dr. Seuss's classic "Cat in the Hat," but shares none of its linguistic vivacity or situational surprise. Jack has a linear series of encounters with Zack, which do not develop or relate in any organic way, and the silliness escalates in a kind of inane spiral. The resulting catastrophe feels inauthentic.
Like some other reviewers, I reserved my adult judgment until I could test the book with young children. My daughter read it to the 3- and 5-year-old children (boy and girl) of a friend, and their response was decidedly lukewarm. The 5-year-old seemed merely puzzled by the story, and when polled registered an emphatic thumbs-down. Neither child asked for a second reading.
I think there are dozens if not hundreds of better children's books to spend your money on.
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5: A handsome, well crafted tome but a rather ho-hum narrative.
First off for a kids book this is a very well crafted tome. Nice paper and a rigid hard back binding that oozes with quality. While this book gets some hipster cred for being penned by Art Spiegelman as a children's story it lacks a decent story at its core and seems a bit 'off' in tone. Anyone who has read 'Maus' knows the narrative range that Spiegelman is capable of - 'Jack and the Box' in comparison seems like an afterthought of sorts and at the end of breezing through this book leaves one to wonder, "is that it?" Surely Spiegelman is capable of more.
Nonetheless, recommended as a gift item to young parents with a fondness for Speigelman and Indie graphic novels.
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