Jack and the Manger
By Andy Jones
Illustrated by Darka Erdelji

Paperback 9780973757897 Price: CDN$17.95 Qty:

Book Description Jack and the Manger retells the story of Jesus’s birth as if it were a Newfoundland folktale. It’s all seen through the eyes of Jack, the hero of many a story, who befriends a young couple on their walk to Bethlehem. There’s a bit of ‘angel talk’, some gravel pit camping, an edge-of-your-seat birth drama, and the low-down on how Caesar Augustus’s ‘count-and-tax plan’ brought them all together. A down-to-earth version of a heavenly tale. Gentle, playful and very funny, Jack and the Manger is the second in an on-going series of Jack tales, combining the talents of Andy Jones, one of Newfoundland's finest storytellers and actors, and Darka Erdelji, one of its most distinctive artists. Erdelji, whose illustrations for The Queen of Paradise's Garden were widely praised, captures the sly wit, intelligence and great heartedness of Jones's tale in her pictures once again. Jack and the Manger is a fine Christmas tale for young and old alike. The book was designed by Veselina Tomova of Vis-à-Vis Graphics, St. John’s, and printed by The Lowe-Martin Group in Ottawa, Ontario. A trade paperback and a hard cover edition. Both books are printed on Rolland Natural paper, and measure 9 inches x 9 inches; 40 pages. Praise for Jones and Erdelji’s previous collaboration, The Queen of Paradise’s Garden: “Jones’s retelling effectively captures the rhythms of oral storytelling and the cadences of Newfoundland dialect. Illustrator Darka Erdelji’s illustrations are a fine match. Enchanting, magical, and very skillful, they blend rich, evocative blues, greens, and reds, delicate line drawings in black and white, and rough, folk-art representations of the characters. All in all, a wonderful, rollicking tale.” — Carlyn Zwarenstein, starred review in Quill & Quire “Andy Jones and Darka Erdelji, along with small press publisher Marnie Parsons and designer Veselina Tomova, have created a marvellous book that deserves a place in every school, library and folktale collection.” —Alison Mews, in Canadian Review of Materials (highly recommended) “The reteller is writer and actor Andy Jones, a founding member of Newfoundland's CODCO troupe. With this provenance, you might expect something original and quite fine; you won't be disappointed.” —Susan Perren, in The Globe and Mail * Nominated for the 2010 Bruneau Family Award for Children's/Young Adult Writing (one of the Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards) * Named to the International Youth Library of Munich, Germany’s White Ravens List for 2010 – acknowledging outstanding international books for children and young adults.