Jillian Jiggs to the rescue

Jillian Jiggs

by Phoebe Gilman

Wonderful, marvelous Jillian Jiggs is back again! Her sister Rebecca's scared of a monster - but with Jillian on the case, that means old monster had better watch out!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Canada

36 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

What can I tell you about myself? I like to make up stories and draw pictures. I like to go ice skating, to the movies and I love reading books.

I was born and grew up in the Bronx, New York. My Mother loved to read so it was only natural that my brothers and I got our own library cards as soon as we were able to print our names. My favorite books were fairy tales. When the pictures didn't match the images that the words had painted in my head, I would cover them up with my hands. I still do that.

I prefer the words to the pictures, which is a little odd since I think of myself as an artist rather than a writer. All of my formal training has been in art. I went to The High School of Art and Design. From there, it was a short skip and a jump over to The Art Student's League, after a brief detour to Hunter College. I spent fifteen years at the Ontario College of Art, teaching others how to draw and paint. It still surprises me to be called a writer.

As soon as I was able, I started to travel. I like meeting new faces and going to new places. One of the nice things about being an artist is that it is a very portable profession. I have lived for extended periods of time in both Europe and Israel.

Shortly after coming to Canada in 1972, I met and married Brian Bender. We have three children, Ingrid, Jason and Melissa, two granddaughters, Ariana and Emily and a cat, Minoo.

It was because of my daughter, Ingrid, that I became an author. When her balloon burst on a tree branch, I wished the tree would magically sprout balloons. It didn't...what sprouted was an idea in my head. Why not write a story about a tree that blossoms balloons? And that's how I came to write my first book, The Balloon Tree.

It is not how I came to be published. That took fifteen years and umpty zillion rejection slips to accomplish.

My advice to any aspiring author is:
•Get a balloon and let it go.
•Read. Read. READ!
•Write. Write. WRITE! (To do anything well takes practice.)
•Don't give up. Keep on trying.
•Don't be afraid of criticism. Learn from it.

From the author's website

Reviews

[Nola · Rating 2 out of 5]

It kills me to say it, but this is a bit of a let down after the pure magic of the initial book and the pig book. The rhyming is not as good, it doesn't flow so easily. Another reason I might think it's not as good is because there's no linking rhyme to the other books:

"Jillian, Jillian, Jillian Jiggs, it looks like your room has been lived in by pigs." It ends with Jillian finally cleaning her room.

Then the next book starts with Jillian holding a jar of buttons, and saying "don't they just look like the noses of pigs" and the refrain is "Jillian, Jillian, Jillian Jiggs, maker of wonderful, marvellous, pigs."

This story has the same characters but it's not a straight up continuation of the story.

This should be hyped more - you learn the name of the little sister. For more than 20 years she's always been the little sister, then I find another Jillian Jiggs book and *boom* mind blown, the little sister is called Rebecca. She makes the move from uncredited supporting actor to a fully credited cast member.

[Susan Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book except for the ending so I wrote an epilogue.

The kitty went up to Rebecca and purred.
Rebecca leaned down and then patted her fur.

It followed them home and then in through the door.
It lay down and rolled on the rug on the floor.

“I think,” said Rachel, “that that cat is a stray.”
“I think,” said Jillian, “the cat wants to stay.”

“Mommy,” Rebecca called, “come quickly and see.”
“I brought home a kitty to come live with me.”

Rebecca slept soundly that night in her bed.
Her new kitty, Pumpkin, slept right by her head.

By

Susan Ross
http://www.susanross.ca

[Noah Forman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading this with my 2-year-old. He got it as a gift for his 2nd birthday, and it was an instant hit. He has his favorite lines memorized. He particularly enjoys shouting out "MONSTER MACHINE!" at relevant moments.

* As always, Gilman's verse has a wonderful bounce to it. I love the line: "They didn't listen. They kept right on going. / The squishing and squashing showed no signs of slowing!"
* There are also some nice nods to high fantasy: the pattern of Jillian's shirt, and the line that the monster would be stronger at night.
* There are subtle visual references to earlier books in the series. The monster construction scene is notable for this.

[Child960801 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jillian and her friends seek to help to catch a monster so her little sister won't be afraid. Mom makes an appearance, but no dad.

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

These were all excellent

[Jacqueline]

Love this one! Great fun and a great surprise at the end

[Annika Dyck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the book that I will be presenting and blogging about for the 3-7 age category.