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A review by mhfarmer
Hi, Jack! by Mac Barnett
5.0
I'm impressed with this entire series. The vast majority of beginning readers are boring. Incredibly boring. Mo Willems came in and changed the game with Elephant & Piggie. The Jack Books continue in that vein, and take it further with seriously funny stuff--petty theft and lipstick graffiti included.
I'm disappointed that so many adults in the reviews are unwilling to share books with their children and/or students unless they have a "good message." By doing that, you are sending the message that reading is ONLY for learning morals and how to behave. This is why so many children learn to hate reading, and as a librarian I hear that from kids all the time. A Book With a Message certainly has its place, but we should all be sending the message that reading is for fun. Parents come to me desperate for a book their child will like, and guess what I hand them? Not Dick & Jane, not Frog & Toad (as much as I love those), not moralistic tales from decades past. No, I hand them funny books.
Mac Barnett, Greg Pizzoli and lots of others are doing great work creating engaging books for beginning readers, but it is up to the parents and teachers to put these books in kids' hands.
Kids deserve more credit. They KNOW Jack is being naughty. And it's funny. I don't believe for one second that kids will start stealing purses and writing on walls in lipstick just because of this book, unless of course their parents and teachers haven't already taught them right from wrong.
For those who continue reading this series, in later books, there is character development and even--dare I say it--a message, and it all feels earned. More, please!
I'm disappointed that so many adults in the reviews are unwilling to share books with their children and/or students unless they have a "good message." By doing that, you are sending the message that reading is ONLY for learning morals and how to behave. This is why so many children learn to hate reading, and as a librarian I hear that from kids all the time. A Book With a Message certainly has its place, but we should all be sending the message that reading is for fun. Parents come to me desperate for a book their child will like, and guess what I hand them? Not Dick & Jane, not Frog & Toad (as much as I love those), not moralistic tales from decades past. No, I hand them funny books.
Mac Barnett, Greg Pizzoli and lots of others are doing great work creating engaging books for beginning readers, but it is up to the parents and teachers to put these books in kids' hands.
Kids deserve more credit. They KNOW Jack is being naughty. And it's funny. I don't believe for one second that kids will start stealing purses and writing on walls in lipstick just because of this book, unless of course their parents and teachers haven't already taught them right from wrong.
For those who continue reading this series, in later books, there is character development and even--dare I say it--a message, and it all feels earned. More, please!