Category: Book Reviews

Sometimes I receive or discover a book and I fall immediately head over heels in love with it. Other times I hate it right off the bat. And occasionally the book sticks in my head and grows on me over time. Today’s book doesn’t fit any of those scenarios. This book is sneaky and stole its way into a review by route of my daughter. An imported equine story has captured the affection of our toddler and thus I find myself examining it, and pondering over it, and vainly trying to deduce what it is that my child is so obsessed about. It’s not that there is anything wrong with this book and perhaps I am just missing the grandness somehow, but upon first read I found myself somewhat ambivalent to it. I like Albertine’s work and the storyline is quirky to match, well-paced and quite European in tone and style. I rather enjoy reading it, but it didn’t really jump out to me. It does thrill me though that my daughter is developing a taste of her own in literature. I gladly encourage her endearment in lovely books even if it decides not to woo me. So without further ado, take a peek at a humorous tale about a horse and his jockey, the terribly disastrous turn of their career, and the silly solution. This is Jumping Jack by Germano Zullo, illustrated by Albertine, 2014.