Zapped into his favorite video game by a sneaky bolt of lightning, mischievous Jack finds himself racing around game puzzles while outmaneuvering a pounding boss. - (Baker & Taylor)
Zapped into his favorite video game by a sneaky bolt of lightning, mischievous Jack finds himself racing around game puzzles while outmaneuvering a pounding boss. By the Caldecott Honor-winning author of Sam and Dave Dig a Hole and the Geisel Award-winning creator of The Watermelon Seed. Simultaneous eBook. Illustrations. - (Baker & Taylor)
From New York Times bestselling author Mac Barnett and Geisel Award-winning illustrator Greg Pizzoli, an uproarious early reader series about a mischievous rabbit, a cranky old lady, and a lovable dog.
On rainy days, Jack loves nothing more than playing video games. But when lightning strikes and Jack finds himself trapped inside his favorite game, will he find a way out before it's game over?
Welcome to the laugh-out-loud and irreverent world of Jack, a new early reader series by the New York Times bestselling and award-winning team of Mac Barnett and Greg Pizzoli. - (Penguin Putnam)
Mac Barnett is the New York Times bestselling author of more than forty books, including Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, Extra Yarn, and the Mac B., Kid Spy series. His books have won numerous prizes, including three E.B. White Read-Aloud Awards, two Caldecott Honors, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. Mac lives in Oakland, California.
Greg Pizzoli is an author, illustrator, and printmaker. His first picture book, The Watermelon Seed, won the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, and his book Good Night Owl was a Geisel Honor. His Viking nonfiction picture book Tricky Vic was a New York Times Best Illustrated of 2015. He lives in Philadelphia. - (Penguin Putnam)
Kirkus Reviews
A rad addition to Barnett and Pizzoli's early readers about Jack the rabbit, the Lady, and Rex the dog. One rainy day, the Lady (who presents White) and Rex settle in for a nice day of reading. Jack doesn't join them in this cozy activity, as he's too busy enjoying his video game, "Rad Kid." Then in a fantastic twist, lightning strikes, and, as the title foreshadows, Jack gets zapped into the game. An unlikely hero emerges as the Lady picks up the game controls and plays the game to save Zapped Jack, who, after some in-game fun, is defeated by the Boss. Pizzoli cleverly alters his illustrations for the scenes of the game within the book to make them appear pixelated, and Barnett's funny, controlled text makes the story accessible to emergent readers. The text describing the Lady's acquisition of gaming skills is particularly chuckleworthy: "You got this! Now go! Hop over that pit! Press A and RIGHT! / Oh. You fell in. // That's OK! You get three lives. So you have two lives left! Just stomp on this bad guy and— / You died again." Gaming isn't vilified in this story, nor is reading elevated as the better activity, which makes it all the more likely that readers who prefer gaming over reading will actually enjoy this title. The backmatter gives directions for drawing Zapped Jack, and readers may well wish there were an accompanying game, too. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-13-inch double-page spreads viewed at 22.2% of actual size.) Zip to get this Zapped Jack book. (Early reader. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus 2021 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
