Fearless Jack

by Paul Brett Johnson

"Back some time ago when folks still had to worry about giants and wild unicorns and such, there was an old woman and her son, Jack."

So begins this tall tale from the heart of Appalachia about Jack, a boy who goes out to seek his fortune (accompanied by his faithful, although somewhat cowardly, hound) and winds up face-to-face with some pretty ornery critters!

How Jack manages to overcome each varmint one by one -- without even meaning to! -- is the heart of this funny, boisterous story from an award-winning artist.

Genres: Picture Books, Folklore, Childrens, Fantasy

32 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2001

About the author

Paul Brett was a painter and children’s book writer/illustrator who grew up in the small town of Mousie, Kentucky, in Knott County. He was asked once in an interview to locate Mousie. He said: “Mousie is over there around Onion Blade, Dismal, Possum Trot, Sassafras, and Right and Left Beaver. But, if you haven’t been to Knott County, you may not be able to locate those places, either.”
That response was quintessential Paul Brett Johnson, a man of deep humor, good will, and immense artistic talent who honored his mountain upbringing in his work. Because he showed talent as a young child, his parents secured art lessons for him, and he made drawing and painting his life’s work.
After nearly a decade of trying to break through in the children’s book market, he finally saw success in 1993 with the release of The Cow Who Wouldn’t Come Down, a School Library Journal Best Book, an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists, and one of the New York Public Library's "One Hundred Books for Reading and Sharing." He eventually produced two companion books of these funny, outrageous tales of a farm woman and her adventurous animals, The Goose Who Went Off in a Huff, and The Pig Who Ran a Red Light. His art was whimsical, colorful, and full of motion that delighted children and adults alike. He was most fond of giving animals a sly (and hilarious) sense of humor and keen intelligence—traits that often matched his own. Eventually he wrote and illustrated over 20 books for children and served as illustrator for several other children’s book writers including George Ella Lyon, James Still, and Margaret Hodges.

Reviews

[Ann Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young Jack sets off on a journey and manages to kill ten yellow jackets with a single whack. His demonstrative acclaim gains him some notoriety. Unfortunately, poor Jack gets more than he bargained for. The town sheriff sets Jack on a wild board and a huge bear. Miraculously, Jack triumphs.

Jack’s final trial is to conquer a unicorn. Rather than being a wonderful, fanciful creature, this unicorn smelled like a terrible combination of rotten eggs and dead fish. It also had a considerable temper and chased Jack into town. Crafty Jack outsmarts the charging unicorn and is congratulated by the town sheriff. Still, there are those giants over the hill.

This is an entertaining book for youngsters and it teaches them a valuable lesson as well. If you boast of your prowess, your pride could very well get more than you bargained for.

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fearless Jack by Paul Brett Johnson (adapted by) Children’s illustrated Colour Picture Book- This book narrates the story of Jack a boy from a village who lived with his aged mother. They were poor. When they finished all their savings, Jack’s mother suggested that he should go out and find a job to earn a living. She gave Jack biscuit, sandwich and one coin. Jack started his journey. After walking for half the day, Jack sat down for lunch. Bees started fluttering on his lunch. Jack took out his cap and hit the honey bees. Some of them died. Jack counted them. They were ten in number. He broke a twig from the tree and wrote on his cap- “Killed ten in one shot.” He reached a village which has been bothered by giant size pig, bear & wild unicorn who made life of people miserable. First he faces a wild pig. Jack moves out of his way. Sheriff meets him and suggests he will reward him if can eliminate these three wild animals. Luck is in favour of Jack. Jack faces the pig. Jack runs in a barn and climbs the fence. Pig follows Jack. Jack jumps in a corn barn. He climbs out of the barn and locks the pig in the barn. Sheriff awards Jack. Second, Jack is tired. He walks in a park for rest. He sleeps on a brown coloured hillock. In his sleep, he understands that he is sleeping on the bear. The bear wakes up to catch him. Jack slips from his hand and falls on the ground while the bear falls in a deep well. Third, Jack is followed by the unicorn. Jack runs from his way. Sheriff comes with his gun. Sheriff aims & shoots at the unicorn. Unicorn is afraid of the noise and hits his horn in a tree trunk. Unicorn’s horn is sharp and it enters the tree trunk. The unicorn is shot at the back by the Sheriff. Thus, Jack is saved. Sheriff award $300 to Jack. Sheriff challenges Jack to kill a giant demon. Coloured Illustrations help the reader to relate to script of the story. I have read the Hindi language translation.

[Gabrielle Palmisano · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fearless Jack is a boy who does not fear anything. Jack was sent by his mother to find work so they can have food and money. While Jack was on his way to town, he stopped to eat his sandwich his mother made him for lunch. Jack found himself a nice rock to enjoy his lunch on, but it was shortly ruined by yellow jackets! Jack took his cap off and whacked ten yellow jackets on top of his sandwich, killing them. This is how Jack named himself Fearless Jack. Once Jack was in the he approached the head sheriff and told him he was in town looking for work. The sheriff saw Jack’s hat and gave him three tasks total, but one after the each other while also raising his pay. Jack happened to get rid of the varmints quite easily and by coincidence. The ending of the story was too abrupt for my liking but overall it was a great story to read.

[Emily Downs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Such a cute little story.

[babyhippoface · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the food and money run out, Jack's mother sends him out to find a job. Along the way he swats 10 yellowjackets dead with one whack! of his hat. He's so pleased with himself that he uses berry juice to write FEARLESS JACK KILLED TEN AT A WHACK ON HIS CAP. Jack heads into town, where he meets the sheriff, who tells him their little town is being terrorized by some wild varmints. If Jack can rid the territory of those critters, he'll get $100 reward money.

Now, Jack wasn't planning on confronting those varmints. He's too lazy for that. But those varmints find him, and luck finds him, too. He manages to take care of each one of them and heads back toward home and his mama with pockets full of cash.

This American folk tale from the Appalachians has enough humor to please young readers, and the vernacular adds to the fun (and that's an accent I can surely pull off). I plan to read this aloud in my 2nd grade unit on multicultural folk tales.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

What exactly happened before Jack went up against the giant? How did he get the job to fight the giant? This book explains it all. It’s just Jack and his Ma left behind in the cottage. And things are getting desperate, so Jack’s Ma sends Jack out to work for money; Jack’s Ma just didn’t know exactly what kind of books he would be working!
This fits perfectly into the idea of a tall tale. Jack kills ten bees in one whack and brags about and suddenly he is doing dangerous jobs for money. It’s super cute, the illustrations slightly adorable and the storyline is good. Good for younger elementary children.

[Virginia Brace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Richard Chase's Jack Tales are some of my all time favorites and it is enjoyable to see any of them in illustrated versions. This is a great example and the pictures that accompany the story are very good at clarifying the words and keeping the mood. Children in third grade who are beginning to like tall tales will find this fits in really well with Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill and the others.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun retelling of one of the Appalachian Jack tales, and the author's note explaining how these folk tales traveled from Europe to the early United States will help deepen kids' understanding of the universality of a lot of our traditional literature.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Jack tale", folktale. Jack captures bore, bear, and unicorn- earns money to take home and support mom. Confidence, cleverness (money from sheriff), outsmarts adult.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book provides a good introduction the the brave Jack that so well know in English fairy tales.

[Deja Bertucci]

This is written with lots of Appalachian slang and idioms. So much so that it made it difficult to read. A lighter touch would have gone a long way.