Jack and the Box: Toon Books Level 1 Paperback – Picture Book, August 5, 2014

This is a goofy story of the Cat in Hat genre. The two year old makes me read it over and over. Sometimes she says it is scary, but she still wants to hear it. The six year old reads it to herself and to her sister. We have enjoyed this story.

I learned about TOON BOOKS only very recently. I purchased this title to give as a present to my grandson, who just turned 3 and who is learning to read. On my way home from his birthday party, my daughter sent me the following text: "He loved his TOON book! Laughed and laughed at bedtime... Big hit!"

good to read with kids

The Toon books are a great series for beginning and early readers. This one, by the renowned Art Spiegelman, is particularly good.

fun book

I love these TOON readers and I believe introducing comic books to beginning readers is very important... but with that said, this one is definitely not my favorite, nor my daughters! (Age 4)

If you are familiar at all with the work of Art Spiegelman, at first it might seem strange to see he has created a line of children's books. But after a moments thought and a turn through "Jack And The Box", I found it made sense.As the author himself states, "I am easily unhinged" and alludes to the fact that he may well be in that state most of the time."Jack And The Box" does little to change this impression.Jack, the titular character is a small child, he is at first scared and surprised by the creature from the box Zack, - but he gradually becomes used to him and demands his presence more and more. Zack obliges, growing more and more imposing each time, eventually showing up with a whole menagerie of uninvited guests who wreak havoc on Jack's home. How like too many parties I have seen.As a tool for first-time readers, comic or otherwise, I can only guess how helpful it will be. Many people smarter than I have devoted their lives studying how we learn, I would never pretend to understand. My first books were about trucks and airplanes, not a scary creature who may or may not be an allegory of addiction and recovery.In the end, Jack triumphs over Zack, but seems to have learned his lesson.I am a huge fan of Spiegelman, I turned more people onto him through "Maus" than would ever have cared or even considered the Holocaust any other way, not as though that's relevant here. And "Shadow Of No Towers" is stunning. Would I like to see my child reading these works? Definitely. Would it warp his world-view? Maybe, but who knows how much "Make Way For The Throughway" affected my own.

When we think of the Jack in the Box toy, we have memories of a fun toy that you wind up and get surprised when it finally pops out of the box. There's no secret there...the toy is definitely going to pop out of the box. Then you push it down and play it again and again. But what if Jack in the Box didn't work that way?The book, "Jack and the Box," by Art Spiegelman, takes a new twist on an old toy idea. The character in the book, a bunny named Jack, is given a toy by his parents. When he first sees it pop out of the box, he's very surprised and a bit scared. After he realizes the toy (named Zack), has a mind of its own, he gets angry at it because it doesn't want to play (it doesn't want to play?!). After Zack the toy scares Jack a few more times, things get even more strange.On a positive note, we think this book is imaginative, creative, and easy for young readers to practice. But because of the creepiness factor of the "silly toy's" behavior, dialogue and illustrations, we feel that this story may actually scare some younger children. That's not to say that others won't enjoy the book -- parents, you know your child best...use your best judgement before deciding to read this book with your child. Some of us actually got a sinister feeling after reading the book -- the toy is playing with the boy, instead of the boy playing with the toy... We're sure the point of this book is to just be "silly," but for young children we prefer more light-hearted stories and those with an actual purpose.