What do you think?
Rate this book
Hey Jack! #14
The Big Adventure
In this charming story from the blockbuster chapter-book series, Jack goes on a holiday! In The Big Adventure, it’s school holidays and Jack is excited to go camping with his family! Jack is especially excited for Sleeping in a tent, toasting marshmallows and going on adventures. But will one of his adventures take him a little further than he planned? From the Australian Children’s Laureate Sally Rippin comes this fantastic and beloved first chapter-book series. Every story follows Jack, a friendly, everyday kid who loves playing with his best friend, Billie. Created to help build emotional literacy, every book in the Hey Jack! series explores a particular emotion – such as worry, happiness, excitement or disappointment – in a relatable way for young readers. Whether it’s about friends, family or feelings, there’s no challenge Jack can’t figure out! With more than ten million books in print around the world, best-selling author Sally Rippin has helped a generation of readers love learning to read. Every Hey Jack! book is carefully designed with short chapters, decodable vocabulary and lots of illustrations, and there are no mountains of text or super-tricky words to intimidate the early reader. And there’s plenty of stories in the series to explore! For more wonderful series by Australian Children’s Laureate Sally Rippin, check out the Billie B Brown and School of Monsters series.Readers will love other books in the Hey Jack! The Winning GoalThe Scary SoloThe Robot BluesThe Fire TruckThe Big MessThe Class Party and many more!
- GenresChildrens
29 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
3 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Sally Rippin
784 books224 followersSally Rippin was born in Darwin, but grew up mainly in South-East Asia. As a young adult she lived in China for three years, studying traditional Chinese painting. Sally has over seventy books published, many of them award-winning, including two novels for young adults. Her most recent work includes the highly acclaimed children’s novel Angel Creek and the popular Billie B Brown books, which became the highest selling series for 6-8 year olds in Australia within the first year of their release. Sally is Australia’s highest selling female author and her Billie B Brown books have sold more than 4.5 million copies in 14 languages.
Sally is a popular presenter in schools and at literary festivals both in Australia and overseas and has a regular program on 3RRR interviewing children’s authors and industry professionals. She is a passionate ambassador for the 100 Story Building creative writing centre for marginalized youth and has mentored many emerging writers and illustrators. Recently, she and her partner co-founded Story Peddlers, a hand-made performance tent that packs away into a custom-built bike, with the aim of bringing back the art of the roving storyteller.
Sally is a popular presenter in schools and at literary festivals both in Australia and overseas and has a regular program on 3RRR interviewing children’s authors and industry professionals. She is a passionate ambassador for the 100 Story Building creative writing centre for marginalized youth and has mentored many emerging writers and illustrators. Recently, she and her partner co-founded Story Peddlers, a hand-made performance tent that packs away into a custom-built bike, with the aim of bringing back the art of the roving storyteller.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
Read
February 25, 2019Read aloud with my 3 year old. He liked it, I think.
May 20, 2022
Jack has a big smile, a sleeping bag, and his favourite boots and is in a happy mood. It's the school holidays and he is going camping with his family.
They have everything packed including marshmallows to toast by the campfire. Jack wants to go straight down to the beach but dad says they need him to help put up the tent first. Then he and dad go for a swim with Scraps. They throw a tennis ball for Scraps to chase. When dad says it's time to get out, Jack begs to stay longer. 'It's dangerous to go in the water without an adult,' dad adds.
They go back up to get dry. Jack's dad lies down and closes his eyes. His mum is dozing too.
How boring! Jack thinks. How can they sleep when there is a whole beach to explore?
Jack asks if he can go for a walk with Scraps. His parents agree if he doesn't go past the rockpools and if he doesn't go in the water.
They get to the rock pools that are full of interesting things. Then a little way beyond the rockpools he sees a small cave. He takes Scraps up to investigate. He pretends he's a caveman and makes a seaweed bed, shells for bowls and other fun things. Then they can see it's getting late so they decide to leave. The sand at the entrance of the cave has gone, its water now. Jack gets scared. The tide has come in.
He yells for his mum and dad but they are too far away to hear. He can't go in the deep water without an adult so Jack sends Scraps to go and get his parents.
Jack's dad comes back with Scraps. 'I was so scared Dad,' Jack burst into tears.
'We were scared too. We looked everywhere for you.' Jack hugged Scraps, 'you are the bravest dog in the world.' They went back to their campsite.
At the camp with mum and dad, toasting marshmallows, Scraps at his feet Jack felt warm, happy and cosy. Jack thinks it's great to have an adventure during the day, but at night I just want to be a kid.
They have everything packed including marshmallows to toast by the campfire. Jack wants to go straight down to the beach but dad says they need him to help put up the tent first. Then he and dad go for a swim with Scraps. They throw a tennis ball for Scraps to chase. When dad says it's time to get out, Jack begs to stay longer. 'It's dangerous to go in the water without an adult,' dad adds.
They go back up to get dry. Jack's dad lies down and closes his eyes. His mum is dozing too.
How boring! Jack thinks. How can they sleep when there is a whole beach to explore?
Jack asks if he can go for a walk with Scraps. His parents agree if he doesn't go past the rockpools and if he doesn't go in the water.
They get to the rock pools that are full of interesting things. Then a little way beyond the rockpools he sees a small cave. He takes Scraps up to investigate. He pretends he's a caveman and makes a seaweed bed, shells for bowls and other fun things. Then they can see it's getting late so they decide to leave. The sand at the entrance of the cave has gone, its water now. Jack gets scared. The tide has come in.
He yells for his mum and dad but they are too far away to hear. He can't go in the deep water without an adult so Jack sends Scraps to go and get his parents.
Jack's dad comes back with Scraps. 'I was so scared Dad,' Jack burst into tears.
'We were scared too. We looked everywhere for you.' Jack hugged Scraps, 'you are the bravest dog in the world.' They went back to their campsite.
At the camp with mum and dad, toasting marshmallows, Scraps at his feet Jack felt warm, happy and cosy. Jack thinks it's great to have an adventure during the day, but at night I just want to be a kid.
July 20, 2021
According to AR, this book is at a 2.6 level (second grade). It is pretty short, containing 3 chapters with 1-4 sentences a page. The pages have big font. Even though this is around the same vocabulary level as other, more common series' like Magic Tree House, there are less words, which could be beneficially for some kids.
In this particular Hey Jack! story, Jack goes to the beach with his family. They pack and make sure they are prepared. He swims in the water with his dad and is told never to swim alone. While his parents are relaxing, Jack starts to explore which leads him to find some cool animals during low tide. However, this also leads him into a cave that seems fun when the water is low. Jack and his dog play "cavemen" for awhile until they realize the water is rising and they are now stuck in the cave. He gets scared but remembers not to go into the water without his dad. He tries calling for his dad, but ends up sending his dog out into the water to find his parents. His dad comes to his rescue but makes sure to talk with Jack about how he should not have explored that far without an adult.
This particular series is usually purchased from an Usborne consultant.
In this particular Hey Jack! story, Jack goes to the beach with his family. They pack and make sure they are prepared. He swims in the water with his dad and is told never to swim alone. While his parents are relaxing, Jack starts to explore which leads him to find some cool animals during low tide. However, this also leads him into a cave that seems fun when the water is low. Jack and his dog play "cavemen" for awhile until they realize the water is rising and they are now stuck in the cave. He gets scared but remembers not to go into the water without his dad. He tries calling for his dad, but ends up sending his dog out into the water to find his parents. His dad comes to his rescue but makes sure to talk with Jack about how he should not have explored that far without an adult.
This particular series is usually purchased from an Usborne consultant.
June 3, 2021
I liked when they found out that the tide was coming in when they were in a cave. And it was about them going on a holiday and they went to the beach and he went swimming with his dad. Then his dad went to sleep on the sand and he wanted to go adventuring on the beach and his mom said you can't go past the rocky pools but he went past them just a little bit. He found a cave with his dog and they played caveman and then when they ended playing it he noticed that the tide was coming in and his dad said you can't go into the water without me and he was going to touch the water and he remembered he couldn't go into the water. Then he told Scrap to go get dad and dad came. (Sutton - 6)
May 15, 2017
I'm very impressed with Sally Rippin's series of beginning chapter books. Jack is a fun boy of about seven. His adventures are relatable and fun. I appreciate that the main characters respect and depend on their family and encourage positive attitudes towards towards others.
May 6, 2020
I read this book to my first grade tutoring student and she loved it! I love how there is a lot of talk about family and at the end of the story teaches a lesson through the common mistakes that children make!
July 13, 2021
(Rating and Review given by 6 year old after reading together)
“I like this because he has marshmallows! But also because he learned a lesson and listened to not go in the water. I like when they pretend to be cavemen.”
“I like this because he has marshmallows! But also because he learned a lesson and listened to not go in the water. I like when they pretend to be cavemen.”
September 14, 2017
Next book choice in my book club with my grandson. It was definitely shorter than I thought it would be, but it definitely taught a good lesson.
February 11, 2020
Read with a student
April 16, 2020
I really liked this book!
August 17, 2021
My son read this book to me. It only has three chapters but for children who struggle with reading it doesn’t overwhelm them in size.
November 20, 2020
It surprised me when Jack had the idea of putting Scraps in the water.Maybe
one day I will try that!
one day I will try that!
July 31, 2016
14 - Sally Rippin, “Hey Jack! The Big Adventure” (Richmond, Victoria, Aust: Hardie Grant Egmont, 2014).
Jack needs rescuing after being trapped in a cave by the rising sea tide.
“Jack can hear the roar and crash of waves in the distance.” (p4)
Jack needs rescuing after being trapped in a cave by the rising sea tide.
“Jack can hear the roar and crash of waves in the distance.” (p4)
September 3, 2016
Cute book for a new reader.
October 13, 2016
Short beginning chapter book for the earliest chapter book readers. Cute story about Jack and his dog needing saved from the incoming tide.
April 13, 2019
Hey Jack and Billie B. Brown books.
Great for kids as they transition to chapter books.
Great for kids as they transition to chapter books.
August 6, 2025
The 'Hey Jack' series is pitch-perfect for emerging readers who like a bit of action with a great little character, and family, who is very easy to identify with.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews