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The Story of the Jack O'Lantern
On Halloween night, we dress up in costumes, go trick-or-treating, and carve jack-o'-lanterns. But what is really behind these holiday traditions?
It all started with a greedy man named Jack, who made a pact with the wrong person. When it comes time for Jack to repay his debt, the deal doesn't quite end as he expected. . . .
Katherine Tegen weaves together legend and tradition to tell the story of one of Halloween's most popular icons. With vibrant and dazzling illustrations from Brandon Dorman, The Story of the Jack O'Lantern answers one of the mysteries of that spooky night.
It all started with a greedy man named Jack, who made a pact with the wrong person. When it comes time for Jack to repay his debt, the deal doesn't quite end as he expected. . . .
Katherine Tegen weaves together legend and tradition to tell the story of one of Halloween's most popular icons. With vibrant and dazzling illustrations from Brandon Dorman, The Story of the Jack O'Lantern answers one of the mysteries of that spooky night.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published July 27, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
November 4, 2018
Author Katherine Tegen spins a pourquoi tale based on Irish folklore in this spooky Halloween picture-book, which explains how the custom of carving jack-o-lanterns came to be. It is the story of Jack, a mean-spirited, unpleasant, dishonest character, who never loses an opportunity to steal from others. When a strange man with unusual feet and hands offers to buy his dinner one night at the pub, a debt to be paid on the day of Jack's death, that foolish man accepts. But when the devil comes to collect his due, Jack uses a pumpkin to escape the first blow, and is condemned to wander the earth, entering neither heaven nor hell, and guided by that glowing carved gourd...
As the author's brief afterword makes plain, The Story of the Jack O'Lantern is inspired by Irish folklore and folk customs, which were brought to the Americas by Irish immigrants in the 19th century, and which were adapted in this new world, eventually becoming the American custom of carving a jack-o-lantern to mark Halloween. The ancient Celts carved various root vegetables (usually turnips), and placed an ember in them, to ward of evil spirits on Samhain. This custom is referenced in the Irish folktale about Stingy Jack, who fools the devil, but is eventually condemned to wander the earth with a carved turnip. I enjoyed Tegen's tale, which is delightfully creepy, and found Brandon Dorman's artwork intensely expressive, and very spooky. The cover image on this one really drew me in! The folklorist in me does wish that Tegen had given a textual source, so that I could track down a more traditional retelling of this story, but leaving that quibble aside, this is one I'd recommend, both to those looking for truly spooky children's tales at Halloween, and to young folklore enthusiasts.
As the author's brief afterword makes plain, The Story of the Jack O'Lantern is inspired by Irish folklore and folk customs, which were brought to the Americas by Irish immigrants in the 19th century, and which were adapted in this new world, eventually becoming the American custom of carving a jack-o-lantern to mark Halloween. The ancient Celts carved various root vegetables (usually turnips), and placed an ember in them, to ward of evil spirits on Samhain. This custom is referenced in the Irish folktale about Stingy Jack, who fools the devil, but is eventually condemned to wander the earth with a carved turnip. I enjoyed Tegen's tale, which is delightfully creepy, and found Brandon Dorman's artwork intensely expressive, and very spooky. The cover image on this one really drew me in! The folklorist in me does wish that Tegen had given a textual source, so that I could track down a more traditional retelling of this story, but leaving that quibble aside, this is one I'd recommend, both to those looking for truly spooky children's tales at Halloween, and to young folklore enthusiasts.
May 29, 2014
The story was a little vague, but the illustrations were awesome.
September 17, 2016
I think the story could have been a bit more detailed, but it was nice overall. Liked the illustrations, especially those of the Jack O'Lanterns.
September 19, 2019
This is an origin story of how Jack sold his soul to the devil for a dinner and the devil came to collect his dues. Perfect for All Hallows Eve. =]
October 23, 2013
This is an Irish folktale about the beginnings of Halloween and the tradition of carving pumpkins. Like most fairy tales, there is some fear woven into the story, so it would be better read to older children or those who don't get frightened easily. There is talk of death, the devil, and scaring evil things away on Halloween night. The pictures are wonderful and would be good for a group or individual setting.
November 12, 2013
Not a winner for us. I liked the story a little more when I read it was based on Irish tales. I don't think the suggested age range (3-8) is appropriate (it's too scary for three-year-olds; 5-8 would be better).
April 2, 2016
Use this one for 3rd-4th graders to talk about folklore. This is a little creepy about how Jack was an evil person who was tricked by the devil and now eternally walks the earth with a turnip/pumpkin.
October 23, 2012
Although I wasn't overly fond of this fable about how the jack o'lantern came to be, I enjoyed the beautifully colored illustrations.
October 10, 2013
Possibly a little dark for small children, but I did enjoy the retelling of the legend and the illustrations too.
March 27, 2014
I read about the first sentence to my kids. Not age appropriate for two preschoolers at all. Rather disturbing for even me.
October 4, 2017
Good but intense for little ones!
October 27, 2018
I had seen this book in my library's catalog and went on here to check it out. I had read a review saying it was too dark for children, and I agree with that. This is not your average Halloween book. This is an Irish tale, which explains the darkness.
This didn't explain how jack 0'lanterns originated to me at all. A mean, thieving man named Jack went around taking whatever he wanted. A man told him he could eat as much he desired, and he would foot the bill, as long as Jack paid him back on the day he died. This night was Halloween and I wondered at the significance of it being Halloween, because there were no celebrations at all and it didn't seem to be Halloween in any way. Then years later on Halloween, Jack stole some pumpkins and was going to eat them. The stranger showed up and said it was payback time, and threw a burning hot coal at Jack. He shielded himself with the pumpkin and it caused a mouth to form in the pumpkin, glowing from the coal. Which was a little much for me, because it wouldn't be in the shape of a mouth.
He vowed that when Jack died he'd never find rest and would search endlessly for a home. He ended up dying many years later and he carried around a pumpkin to light his way, prompting him to be called "Jack of the lantern," or "Jack O'Lantern."
The only line I really liked was "On Halloween, some people believe ghosts and spooks will leave their graves and wander the earth again." The author wrote that we dress in costumes to scare spirits away, which I liked that explanation, but this is supposed to be a tale about the jack o'lantern, not costumes, so it seemed to be branching off-topic.
We also supposedly light a lantern to remember what happened to Jack, which I didn't really see the connection, because Jack's pumpkin only had a smile, not a whole face...Idk, it just didn't come together and make sense for me.
The Irish tales feature Jack, a man who tricked the devil, but eventually got his due for being such a bad person. This Jack didn't trick the devil though. It explained that he wandered earth without being able to go to either heaven or hell, and used a carved turnip as a lantern.
I really liked the lore from Ireland, that for hundreds of years people would carve vegetables: turnips, gourds, and potatoes to scare spirits away. When Irish people moved to America in the 1800s they brought their tales with them. Since pumpkins were common in America, and were easier to carve, they started using those. In the 1900s Americans started carving all these faces, which is still done today. That was the best part of the book. Without that the tale didn't really add up.
The illustrations are so animated and like something out of a movie. They really could be a movie, so it was a nice experience looking at this kind of artwork. I enjoyed the pages with the dark blue night sky and all of the stars, with the row of pumpkins lit up with all these different expressions, the most.
The devil element brought a very dark element to this. He was described as having strange hands and feet, and the images showed cloven feet in boots and monster-ish, three-fingered hands like something belonging to a beast. I think this would be scary for kids, because of the images of the devil and him trying to kill Jack, talking about his death, and not going to heaven. Definitely not for every kid and this might give some nightmares.
This didn't explain how jack 0'lanterns originated to me at all. A mean, thieving man named Jack went around taking whatever he wanted. A man told him he could eat as much he desired, and he would foot the bill, as long as Jack paid him back on the day he died. This night was Halloween and I wondered at the significance of it being Halloween, because there were no celebrations at all and it didn't seem to be Halloween in any way. Then years later on Halloween, Jack stole some pumpkins and was going to eat them. The stranger showed up and said it was payback time, and threw a burning hot coal at Jack. He shielded himself with the pumpkin and it caused a mouth to form in the pumpkin, glowing from the coal. Which was a little much for me, because it wouldn't be in the shape of a mouth.
He vowed that when Jack died he'd never find rest and would search endlessly for a home. He ended up dying many years later and he carried around a pumpkin to light his way, prompting him to be called "Jack of the lantern," or "Jack O'Lantern."
The only line I really liked was "On Halloween, some people believe ghosts and spooks will leave their graves and wander the earth again." The author wrote that we dress in costumes to scare spirits away, which I liked that explanation, but this is supposed to be a tale about the jack o'lantern, not costumes, so it seemed to be branching off-topic.
We also supposedly light a lantern to remember what happened to Jack, which I didn't really see the connection, because Jack's pumpkin only had a smile, not a whole face...Idk, it just didn't come together and make sense for me.
The Irish tales feature Jack, a man who tricked the devil, but eventually got his due for being such a bad person. This Jack didn't trick the devil though. It explained that he wandered earth without being able to go to either heaven or hell, and used a carved turnip as a lantern.
I really liked the lore from Ireland, that for hundreds of years people would carve vegetables: turnips, gourds, and potatoes to scare spirits away. When Irish people moved to America in the 1800s they brought their tales with them. Since pumpkins were common in America, and were easier to carve, they started using those. In the 1900s Americans started carving all these faces, which is still done today. That was the best part of the book. Without that the tale didn't really add up.
The illustrations are so animated and like something out of a movie. They really could be a movie, so it was a nice experience looking at this kind of artwork. I enjoyed the pages with the dark blue night sky and all of the stars, with the row of pumpkins lit up with all these different expressions, the most.
The devil element brought a very dark element to this. He was described as having strange hands and feet, and the images showed cloven feet in boots and monster-ish, three-fingered hands like something belonging to a beast. I think this would be scary for kids, because of the images of the devil and him trying to kill Jack, talking about his death, and not going to heaven. Definitely not for every kid and this might give some nightmares.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 24, 2016
My daughter said this book was amazing... she said it gave her chills and that she's going to think of it for a long time. [She's 6!]
March 26, 2019
This is where my daughter’s imaginary friend Jacko got his name.
October 28, 2019
Simple retelling of the Jack of the Lantern story. I especially liked the snippet of history at the end (not a part of the story). I do think it would be a little scary for small ones.
October 23, 2020
Some nice old-school illustrations but the story needed more.
November 5, 2021
3.5
Based on the Irish story of how Jack O'lanterns came to be.
Based on the Irish story of how Jack O'lanterns came to be.
October 17, 2022
A nice take on the original--read: dark--folklore of the jack o'lantern's origins. Definitely for children a little older and mature.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 20, 2026
A little dark for young readers, but the history and lore behind the jack-o'-lantern was interesting. The illustrations were also beautiful.
August 9, 2019
Loved this brief history/mythology behind the Jack'o'lantern Halloween tradition
August 29, 2015
I read this to my four year old daughter and we both enjoyed it. Based loosely on the ancient Irish legend of Jack who was too bad for Heaven and too wicked for Hell. Instead of the turnip from the legend she used a pumpkin which though understandable is not part of the original legend. The pictures were very well done which made up a little for the story.
July 8, 2012
38 months - we'll be reading this one again I'm sure. It's a good one.
October 12, 2012
The legend of how Jack O'Lanterns came to be - such a fun story, great illustrations. Perfect read-aloud for this time of year!
October 22, 2013
megan fall reading 2018, children's book, picture book, holiday book, halloween
October 30, 2019
This picture books tells the “Stingy Jack” version of the Jack O’Lantern origin story, adapted for children.
Read
September 6, 2018A fun, spooky folktale with colorful illustrations. A bit too old for my storytime group, but I enjoyed it personally!
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews