Jack-O-Lantern

by Edna Barth, Paul Galdone (Illustrator)

A tale set in New England depicting the origins of the first jack-o'-lantern

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mean Jack gets the better of both St. Peter and the Devil (and the Devil's two bumpkinish looking demonic sons, Norman and Everett - I wonder why Barth chose those particular names?) in a humorous tale. While not a terrifying Halloween tale, this has enough old New England flavor to pair nicely with Legend Of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle , some apple cider and hot popcorn on a cold October night under a yellow pumpkin moon.

[Capn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Best part, I thought, was the author's note at the end explaining the source material and different versions of the myth. She also explains that she set this one in her native New England and loosely based Mean Jack on a real character. Without the explanatory note, this would have been a 2 for me.
Free read on OpenLibrary.

[kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

dated, weird, not really something you'd read to kids

[Jon MacLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mom gave me this book when I was 4 years old.
We read it every Halloween.
Now, I read it every Halloween to my children.

[Samantha Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

great old story i always loved how authors can come up with stories like this how mean jack was turned away from heaven and hell cursed to wander forever alone