Sparrow Jack

Title:

Sparrow Jack

Author:

Summary:

In 1868, John Bardsley, an immigrant from England, brought one thousand sparrows from his home country back to Philadelphia, where he hoped they would help save the trees from the inch-worms that were destroying them. Based on a true story.

Edition:

1st ed.

Physical Description:

1 v. (unpaged) : col. ill. ; 28 cm.

Genre:

Picture books.

Personal Subject:

Bardsley, John-Fiction.

Subject Term:

Sparrows -- Fiction.

Immigrants -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Philadelphia (Pa.) -- History -- Fiction.

Pennsylvania -- History -- 1865- -- Fiction.

Publisher:

Frances Foster Books/Farrar Straus Giroux,

Electronic Access:

Publisher description

Publication Date:

2003

ISBN:

9780374371395

Publication Information:

New York : Frances Foster Books/Farrar Straus Giroux, 2003.

Call Number:

P GERSTEI

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607001635419	Picture Books	GERSTEI	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A lively twist on the immigrant story

When John Bardsley leaves England to seek his fortune in America, he finds that his new city, Philadelphia, is crawling with inchworms! No one seems to know how to get rid of them, and the American birds turn up their beaks at the thought of eating any. Recalling his rescue of a very hungry baby sparrow when he was a boy, John comes up with a novel way to solve the problem, and he once again sets sail across the ocean in order to save his new city -- with some help from his feathered friends.

Using detailed illustrations, Mordicai Gerstein tells the little-known story of how sparrows came to America and how John Bardsley came to be known as Sparrow Jack . Sparrow Jack is a 2004 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Author Notes

Mordicai Gerstein was born in Los Angeles, California in 1935. He attended the Chouinard Art Institute in California. He designed and directed animated films for twenty-five years. In 1970, he met author Elizabeth Levy, who asked him to illustrate her children's book Something Queer Is Going On. He has illustrated all of the books in her Something Queer series. He decided to try his hand at writing. His first picture book, Arnold of the Ducks, was published in 1980 and adapted into an animated film. He has also retold many ancient religious stories, such as that of Jonah in his book, Jonah and the Two Great Fish. He has won many awards including 2 CINE Golden Eagle Awards from the International Film and Television Festival of New York.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 2-This pleasing blend of history and legend tells the story of a man who brought sparrows to America in the 1860s. John Bardsley loved these birds, though they were considered pests in England. He wound up in Philadelphia, where countless inchworms plagued the plants of the city. Bardsley journeyed back to his homeland and returned with a thousand sparrows that soon collected the worms for their hungry chicks. Gerstein's whimsical illustrations capture the spirited energy of this intriguing story. Crawling inchworms adorn the borders of several frames, and the sparrows finally reach outside the frame to eat them in the satisfying conclusion. Sparrow Jack, as he finally came to be called, is portrayed as a determined, ingenious, and endearing figure. The various expressions of the other people in the story reflect disgust, skepticism, surprise, and delight, depending on their reactions to Jack's ideas. The narrative tells just enough of the story to get readers firmly on the side of the inventive bird lover. The foreword, along with Jack's dream of talking sparrows, makes it clear that the fact-based story includes pleasing touches of imagination. Though the citizens of Philadelphia eventually complain about them, "those noisy little pests, the sparrows," are clearly heroes in this tale. An enjoyable and unusual bit of history.-Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

With the same gusto he brought to What Charlie Heard, Gerstein celebrates the accomplishments of another out-of-the-box thinker, John Bardsley. In 1868, the Englishman, newly transported to Philadelphia, imported 1,000 sparrows to the United States, averting the destruction of his new hometown's foliage by inchworms. This odd historical tidbit, in Gerstein's skilled hands, shapes up into a funny and engrossing tale. While a boy, Bardsley befriends a baby sparrow-one of a species viewed by the English as "greedy, noisy pests, but tasty snacks when roasted." The hero's fondness for the birds sparks his unusual idea about how to get Philadelphia's inchworm population into balance. Like composer Charlie Ives, Bardsley follows his vision despite naysayers. He transports the birds without the funding of the city council and shelters 1,000 sparrows in his home through the winter months. A living room scene, showing "Sparrow Jack" calmly reading a newspaper with birds perched on him from head to toe, embodies the whimsy of this story and the good nature of its hero. Humor and fancy augment every lightly hued, cross-hatched illustration. Gerstein decorates a number of scenes with a border of the ubiquitous inchworms, for example, and includes a dream sequence in which the birds debate the impending move ("Face facts. We're despised and hunted here"). Such playful touches make these humble little creatures soar. Ages 4-8. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved