The Fort That Jack Built

PreS-Gr 2—Ashburn continues to mine traditional nursery rhymes with this reimagining of "The House That Jack Built." This time, Jack is a little boy who collects various items from around the house to construct a fort in front of the living room TV. But little by little, starting with the dog that pulls at the curtain, the structure is dismantled. Jack's sisters, brother, and parents reclaim the chairs, books, curtains, sheets, and other borrowed bits while Jack tries in vain to fend them off with his toy weapons. Left with just the coffee table and a sympathetic grandma, he finally builds a much smaller and cozier hideaway. The story starts out with a strong rhyme scheme that falters later on in the text. (Perhaps it's all those phrases set off by parentheses—and hyphens—and exclamations that tend to trip up someone trying to read the story aloud.) Helquist's muted pictures created with oil on a digital print illustrate each scene but they sometimes chop up the verse unevenly. Although there are many opportunities to bring out the playfulness of the concept, Jack usually looks angry and the other characters have static expressions. Overall, a missed opportunity for a clever presentation.—Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT