Meet Jumpy Jack, a very nervous snail who’s afraid of monsters, and Googily, who is a—well, who is a very good friend, indeed. ...
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May 06, 2008
Carter
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Jumpy Jack, the snail, is terribly frightened of monsters. Luckily, his best friend Googily is willing to check various places to make sure they are monster-free--"I would be grateful if you would check, just to be sure."
Super-awesome illustrator (that's her official title), Sophie Blackall (of Ivy + Bean fame), shows brave Googily checking each place where Jumpy Jack has imagined a monster could be lurking: "'No monsters here,' says Googily. 'Or here.'" Obviously More...
Super-awesome illustrator (that's her official title), Sophie Blackall (of Ivy + Bean fame), shows brave Googily checking each place where Jumpy Jack has imagined a monster could be lurking: "'No monsters here,' says Googily. 'Or here.'" Obviously More...
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May 22, 2009
Robin
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If your kids like monsters (or even if they are afraid of them), here's a book that should make them laugh. Jumpy Jack & Googily by Meg Rosoff and illustrated by Sophie Blackall, has a fresh take on the whole monster thing.
Jumpy Jack is a timid snail with a big fear of monsters. He thinks they're everywhere, and turns to his best friend Googily to check out various situations. He asks Googily to check behind the door, under the table, in the pool. The thing that neither of them seems More...
Jumpy Jack is a timid snail with a big fear of monsters. He thinks they're everywhere, and turns to his best friend Googily to check out various situations. He asks Googily to check behind the door, under the table, in the pool. The thing that neither of them seems More...
Aug 30, 2008
Molly
rated it: 
Cute story about how friendship colors perception. I think it moves a little slowly (at least for my read-a-loud tastes) and the overall joke (the snail is afraid of monsters, but he doesn't seem to notice that his friend actually is a monster) is a bit complex. So, maybe this is better for older kids. I read it to my three year old, and he laughed when I did, but I could tell he wasn't sure why he was laughing!
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Apr 27, 2010
Jocelyn
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I had to give this book 5 stars, not because of my own love of the book but because of my daughters'. My 19 month old especially loves it. She begs for us to read it all the time. We even bought it (cheap on Amazon) after she went through withdrawals when we took it back to the library. The book is cute enough, I guess. It just wouldn't have been one of my top choices had my daughters not loved it so much. It's repetetive and doesn't teach much, but my girls just love it. Also, there's a cute on
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Nov 11, 2008
Melissa
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What a charmer this picture book is. Scores very high on the giggle-meter with my gang. Jumpy Jack is a snail of the most nervous sort. As lovably neurotic anthropomorphizations go, Jack's right up there with Piglet, friend of Pooh. Fortunately, Jumpy Jack has his best friend Googily to put his mind to rest when the monster-worries creep in. Jack fears monsters are lurking at every turn—monsters with big round eyes and sharp teeth and lolling tongues and possibly even creepy bowler hats. Googily
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Jul 07, 2008
Tasha
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Picture books can be so derivative that it gets dull to open them and read one more. But the reason I keep on reading is that between all of the dull ones, there are gems. This book is original and genuinely funny.
Jumpy Jack, the snail is very afraid of monsters. Everywhere they go Googily has to check to make sure that monsters aren't there. Googily assures Jumpy Jack that it is silly to be so afraid and is amazed at his friends imagination. It gets especially ridiculous when J More...
Jumpy Jack, the snail is very afraid of monsters. Everywhere they go Googily has to check to make sure that monsters aren't there. Googily assures Jumpy Jack that it is silly to be so afraid and is amazed at his friends imagination. It gets especially ridiculous when J More...
Dec 26, 2008
Kate Hastings
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Great for a "little bit scary" storytime. In this story-- a cute little snail named Jumpy Jack is scared that monsters lurk behind trees, in swimming pools and mailboxes. He has his friend Googily check to make sure monsters aren't going to jump out and scare them. The funny part is that Googily is a sort of scary odd-looking monster That Jumpy Jack doesn't consider a monster. At the end-- what Googily is really scared of is something that will make kids laugh!
Oct 18, 2011
emi
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I don't rate a lot of kids books but this one deserves recognition. We love this book for the awesome illustrations (I'm partial to monster Googily's comb-over and unibrow), constant giggles, and the killer BOO! at the very end. My 4 yr olds like the repetition and I appreciate the tender portrayal of how good friends look out for each other, and do their best to allay each others fears no matter how irrational they may be.
Feb 02, 2012
Melanie
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Jumpy Jack the snail is afraid of monsters. His friend Googily, assures him that there won't be monsters to scare him. He double checks behind a tree, in the tool shed, in the pool, in the house, under the table and under the bed. Indeed, Googily is right. There are no monsters.
There is, however, a sock under Googily's bed that keeps him awake at night!
There is, however, a sock under Googily's bed that keeps him awake at night!
Jun 24, 2009
Agnes
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Behind the tree, in the tool shed, in the pool, behind the door, under the table, and under the bed... the monster could be anywhere. Googily checks all those places but finds no monster but someone in the story really fits the monster description Jumpy Jack keeps bringing up. Who's the monster after all? A sock surprise is in store at the end.
Dec 22, 2008
Tara
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Jumpy Jack is cute little nervous snail who is terribly afraid of monsters. His friend, Googily (who any child would recognize as a monster) is very kind and checks everywhere that Jumpy Jack goes to make sure there aren't any monsters. I think it would make a very funny storytime paired with Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems.
Jan 13, 2009
Molly
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Total Molly book here. It is a little weird and would be wonderful for a kid who is scared of monsters. Jumpy Jack keeps worring that there will be a monster and his best friend Googily (a monster) reassures him that it will all be ok. These are darling illustrations and I love how much personality they express. Ages 3+
Aug 31, 2011
Tara
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If my two year old were rating this, she'd say Five stars. She loved this book so much that she chatted with her Daddy about it at dinner. She LOVED it. Mama, on the other hand, didn't get the big deal. Illustrations weren't great. Kinda boring. Aren't I a buzz killer?
Apr 21, 2010
Megan
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Jumpy Jack is a snail who worries that there might be monsters everywhere he goes. He's so concerned that he makes Googily check for monsters behind the tree, in the shed, in the pool, etc. The irony is that Googily is actually a monster. Fun for kids and parents.
Nov 04, 2009
Tricia
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jumpy jack is a neurotic little snail terrified of monsters. his best friend is you guessed it, a monster. humorous for chldren savvy enough to catch the irony. even if they don't "get" all of it, the ilustrations are expressive and silly.
Jan 19, 2009
Kelly
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This book is funny, and the illustrations are great. A snail is scared of monsters even though his best friend is a monster. But I feel like it could have been edited a little better--it felt long and drawn out while reading it out loud.
Apr 17, 2009
Jenny
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Jumpy Jack is a snail who is always afraid that there might just be a monster around every corner. So he asks his best friend who is a ....well his name is Googily to check for him. At the end we find out what Googlily is afraid of.
Jan 06, 2012
Jennifer
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Jumpy Jack is scared of monsters. He imagines they could be hiding anywhere. His best friend Googily makes sure they aren't. Googily also happens to be a monster.
This one gives us the giggles. The pictures make the story.
This one gives us the giggles. The pictures make the story.
Jun 20, 2011
Angie
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These two are a pair. The poor little snail is so afraid of a monster he asks his friend to look for one everywhere. Of course if I'd been reading this with kids the entire time they would have been "BUT HE IS A MONSTER!"
Jan 30, 2009
Tessa
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A great story of a nervous snail and his friend/roommate who is a nice monster with a combover--that's really what cemented my love. They sleep with stuffed toy versions of themselves. The writing and art are superb.
Nov 24, 2008
Suzanne
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Um, it was kinda weird and kinda cute. My daughter was very solemn throughout the book so I thought the joke was over her head. But when I finished she said "That was a very good book." So, you know, what do I know?
Feb 17, 2009
Denise
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Great lesson in irony for the youngest of children. Jumpy Jack is afraid of monsters, so it's a good thing his best friend (a giant, blue monster) is kind enough to check for monsters everywhere they go.
Oct 22, 2011
Relyn
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This is the kind of book second graders love. I enjoyed it, but I bet my class will love it. I plan to use it in a writing mini-lesson about using illustrations to add to the story.
Sep 16, 2009
Mylisa
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I liked it and I thought the next to the last page genuinely funny but Timmy was in stitches throughout. So, a great choice for five year olds with a taste for the odd.
Dec 05, 2008
Cindi
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Picked this up off the "new" shelf in the library last night. I love the illustrations. It's a fun and different kind of story too.
Nov 08, 2011
Alice
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This was a cute story that could be used to teach children about dealing with many of the things they're afraid of.
Aug 11, 2011
Jumpy Jack is scared of monsters. Especially ones with sharp teeth and long, thin feet... But Googily is here to check it is safe around! Hilarious and clever, it will change the way kids think about monsters.
Mar 26, 2009
Julia
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Great art and a funny premise where two strange creatures/monsters reveal what they are afraid of.
Dec 20, 2010
Melissa
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my 5 year old's favorite book - she "gets" the ironic humor and loves it!
Jul 30, 2009
Jen
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Cute! Snail's afraid of "monsters" while hanging out with his monster friend!
