The Queen of Paradise's Garden

Jack Tales #1

by Andy Jones, Darka Erdelji (Illustrator)

Once upon a time, and a very good time it was, not in your time, indeed not in my time, but in olden times, when quart bottles held half a gallon and houses were papered with pancakes and pigs run about with forks stuck in their backs seeing who wanted a slice o' ham, there were two old people and they never had no children, and they figured they were too old to ever have any. So begins The Queen of Paradise's Garden , a wonderful adaptation of a traditional Newfoundland tale, and the first in an ongoing series that combines the telling wit and resonant language of acclaimed Newfoundland actor, writer and comedian Andy Jones with the charming illustrations of Slovenian-born puppeteer and artist Darka Erdelji. Of course, it's clear from the story's beginning that there are children on the way, and one of those children is Jack, the delightful, mischievous, big-hearted hero of so many Newfoundland tales. Told with the humor, warmth and sly wit that have made Jones one of the Island's finest and best-loved storytellers, The Queen of Paradise's Garden follows Jack on his way to the land of the Queen of Paradise, three miles this side of the end of the world, where he searches for a magic fruit to make his parents young again, and finds quite a few other handy things as well. The story is a free adaptation of a tale told by Albert Heber Keeping of Grand Bank, which he got from Billy Quann of Sagona Island; Keeping's version was published in Herbert Halpert and John Widdowson's seminal collection, Folktales of Newfoundland .

44 pages, Paperback

First published February 25, 2009

Reviews

[Kate]

Obviously I read this because I just read Jack, the King of Ashes and it's the same author. And I liked this one too! Not as much as Jack, but I'm still really into Canadian folk tales. And the illustrations are growing on me. I didn't pay too much attention to them in Jack but in this one there were a couple that really got me, like when Jack wakes up all the people in the village and they're all drawn as birds.

[Buried In Print]

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[Tiffany]

Now, I'm sure to be missing whichever aspect of this is the traditional Newfie tale, but it was adorable even without knowing! Andy Jones very gracefully weaves moral lessons (like be honest, be kind and share) and life tips (such as that teenagers are difficult and wine should be free-flowing) into cute, quick stories to be enjoyed by any audience. So maybe this is a bedtime story for kids, but for me yet again today, it started off my morning with a laugh alongside the morning coffee!