Synopsis
For Jack, life is tough at the Opportunities School for Orphans and Foundlings, where he has to avoid trouble with the wrathful Schoolmaster Bane and Edwin, the school bully. But when he turns twelve, trouble finds him. Apprenticed to a bookkeeper, he believes he has the job of his dreams. He loves the idea of taking care of books. What could be better for a boy whose most treasured possession is a grubby, torn dictionary that he received from the Benevolent Ladies Auxiliary one year for Christmas? But when Jack learns that bookkeeping does not involve keeping books safe, he realizes he cannot stay. Traveling to the market town of Aberbog, the he becomes an ideas peddler, selling whims, concepts, plans, opinions, impressions, notions, and fancies, eventually winning the town's heart. Will Jack settle down in Aberbog or continue his hardscrabble life on the road?
Bruno St. Aubin's illustrations vividly capture the strong personalities drawn by the gifted and acclaimed author Sarah Ellis.
Publishers Weekly
Told with the outsize zest of a tall tale, this vibrant, well-crafted novel starts strong and gets even better. Raised in the Opportunities School for Orphans, the plucky and resilient Jack gets a chance to prove himself as he turns 12, when he is outfitted with an apprenticeship (and his first pair of long pants). First, though, in this tale's characteristic balance of wit and poignancy, he trains the new scullery boy to avoid beatings from the cook ("The secret is to make Cook go sad.... He cries. Huge big tears.... Then he sits in his chair and goes to sleep"). But when Jack's job with a bookkeeper disappoints (he imagines he'll be "sitting at the door in a tidy uniform, keeping the books safe, dry and warm"), he decides to take his luck on the road, armed with little more than his ragged, incomplete dictionary ("A sunrise was better when you knew the word sublime," he believes). In a clever twist, Jack sets himself up at a town fair as a vendor of "thoughts, concepts, plans, opinions, impressions, notions and fancies," and bored villagers snap up his product. Ellis (Out of the Blue) sends a timeless message-about the values of believing in one's own visions, of a positive outlook and similar-and the details she uses are fresh and fun, her language supple and refined. Readers will want to tag along with Jack on his several adventures. Final artwork not seen by PW. Ages 7-10. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.