Jack Plank Tells Tales Paperback – April 1, 2011

What a delight. Natalie Babbitt, storyteller form Ohio, is a gem of a writer, and these little stories about Jack Plank, a former pirate, now out of work, are simply wonderful. She reminds us us a simpler , more wonderful time. All the children who have been given this book have loved it. It's a wonderful read-aloud.

My nearly 5 year old son have read this twice now. Each chapter is a different tale told by Jack. Each tale is wonderfully told. We'll read it again and again.

A fun, light reading book. Very imaginatively created.

Well, Jack Plank isn't actually on board his pirate ship anymore, being a victim of cost-cutting measures--i.e., he got laid off. He now lives at a rooming house, where he manages to tell a story at dinner every night, always in connection with his ongoing efforts to find a new career (aided and abetted by a child, of course). I thought Jack Sparrow had spoiled me for every other pirate imaginable, but then I met Jack Plank and fell in love all over again. Not that Jack is glamorously bizarre; instead he is as kind and gently funny as a favorite uncle. Kids will just plain like the stories, based on premises such as a shipmate who turns into something rather more aquatic than a wolf on full-moon nights or the little girl on a deserted island who's been raised by seagulls. The delivery is so relaxed that when you're finished, you find yourself thinking back through the book as it slowly dawns on you what an amazing collection of stories this really is--all at a level that can be appreciated as a read-aloud by 5-year-olds, 12-year-olds, and everything in between. As for grown-up readers, they can enjoy Natalie Babbitt's notoriously superb craftsmanship. For example, pay attention to the snippets of clever commentary from the dinner guests following each tale. It is said that the best practitioners in any field make their art seem effortless, and this non-aggressive, non-flashy piece of writing fits the bill. True, Jack Plank Tells Tales doesn't have the deep-sea philosophical implications of the classic Tuck Everlasting, but it doesn't need them: it surfs the waves of human nature with a humor and grace and affection often sadly missing from today's children's books.

What a wonderful book of short stories for children. I was attracted by the cover and borrowed the book to read for myself (after all, every middle-aged adult still houses elements of the child they once were, right?).In this delightful book with its lovely drawings are a collection of stories told by Jack Plank, unemployed pirate. Each night, over dinner at Mrs DelFresno's boarding house Jack explains why his job seeking isn't going so well. I was especially engaged by the reasons why Jack can't be a farmer or a fisherman.Fortunately, everything works out at the end. In the absence of young children (or grandchildren) of my own to read this book to, I'll settle for recommending it to others.Jennifer Cameron-Smith