Now the Land of Thieves, as you can probably guess, was beyond the limb of the law. It was lousy with robbers, rowdies, thieves, preachers, bullyboys, hooligans, scofflaws, skullies, skeets, and sleeveens. Just about the only honest people in the land were Jack and Mary. And they worked as hard as ever they could, and by and by they grew to be rich. Award-winning storyteller Andy Jones and acclaimed illustrator Darka Erdelji are back with another whimsical, wise, and witty Jack tale. Jack and Mary in the Land of Thieves finds Jack, that everyman of folktales, married to his sweetheart Mary, the best woman ever born and a mighty fine baker to boot. Their lives are as happy and successful as can be, until an underhanded sea captain and Jacks own bragging get the better of our hero. Jack is sent the once to work on Slave Islands and Mary is turned out of house and home. But Mary is resolute and resourceful, and has plans to find Jack and restore their fortunes. Inspired by several traditional and classic works, including Shakespeares Cymbeline, the medieval tale of Frederick of Jennen, and the Newfoundland story Jack and the Slave Islands, Andy Jones has crafted a funny, moving, and delightfully original story about love, treachery, perseverance, and cherry cake. Darka Erdeljis gorgeous illustrations capture the drama, humour, and beauty of this wonderful tale. With a hidden key, a storm at sea, and a singing mynah bird named Baxter who carries more than his share of tunes, Jack and Mary in the Land of Thieves will delight youngsters and oldsters alike. As a special bonus, the melodies of all of Baxters songs are included, so that readers can learn them, sing them, and share them. The melodies, created by Andy Jones, were inspired by several traditional tunes; Pamela Morgan kindly helped with the musical notation. Designed by Veselina Tomova, of Vis a Vis Graphics (St. Johns, NL). Want to know more about the book? You'll find some fun background information on our blog.
Author Biography:
Andy Jones is a performer, writer, and former member of the CODCO comedy troupe. He was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, where he co-founded the Resource Centre for the Arts at the L.S.P.U. Hall, co-writing, acting in, and directing many original productions.Among his numerous stage and film credits, Jones starred in, co-wrote, and co-directed the 1986 feature film, The Adventures of Faustus Bidgood. He has written five critically acclaimed one-man comedy shows, as well as Albert, a one-act play for one man and a budgie bird; The Lady with the Lapdog(a radical theatrical adaptation of Anton Chekhov's short story); and the children's plays The Queen of Paradise's Garden, Jack Meets the Cat (co-written with the Sheila's Brush collective) and Jack-Five-Oh (co-written with Philip Dinn). Jones also writes children's books based on Newfoundland Folktales; Jack and Mary in the Land of Thieves, won the Winterset award in 2013. A native of Slovenia, Darka Erdelji received a Masters of Arts in Puppet Scenography from Pragues Akadmie Muzickych Umeni. She lived in St. Johns with her Newfoundland-born partner and their children for several years. Darka currently designs puppets for Lutkovno Gledaliče Maribor, a state-of-the-art Slovenian puppet theatre housed in a renovated medieval monastery. In the summer of 2015, Darka's artwork for two of the Jack books was featured at Image. Word. Design: Exploring Picture Book Illustration in Atlantic Canada, an exhibition at the Acadia University Art Gallery in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Since returning to Slovenia, she has illustrated two highly praised books by acclaimed Slovenian children's writer Bina Stampe Zmavc.