Friday, September 20, 2024

Sims. The Castle that Jack Built

The Castle that Jack Built is a children's book by Lesley Sims, with art by Mike Gordon, published in 2007. It is available at the Internet Archive.

Here is a YouTube read-along:

It's told cumulatively with some fun rhymes, shifting from short lines to long lines, just like in the traditional "Jack" nursery rhyme. Plus, there's a fun twist where the frog character, kissed by the princess, returns in the final recitation as... the prince!

This is the prince who came to town
and kissed the girl in a silver gown.
He was the frog with a grumpy frown
who hopped from the wagon turned upside down,
tipped by the troll with the scritchy itch
who upset the witch who sat in the wagon
that followed the dragon
who stole the gold
that sat in the castle
that Jack built.

Then there's a coda at the end:

This is King Jack with his golden crown.
His son is the prince who came to town
and kissed the girl in a silver gown.
And they all lived happily ever after,
safe in the castle that Jack built.

This is a great example of blending new content with a very traditional "Jack" form! The illustrations are also very charming:



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