This Is the Glade Where Jack Lives: Or How a Unicorn Saved the Day

Who doesn’t love the delicious play of language in a child’s nursery rhyme? Here Armstrong-Ellis has updated The House that Jack Built to include a quirky assortment of mythic creatures including gnomes, fairies, imps, mermaids, dragons, and a particularly eye-catching, sparkly unicorn named Jack. In a departure from the original nursery rhyme, some of these creatures create ever-increasing chaos. Can Jack bring peace to his glade? Yes, he can with something as simple and sweet as a kiss.

Told with delightful rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration, Armstrong-Ellis’s story is simply good fun to read aloud. It is very possible that adults will enjoy the fun of this story as much as their young audience. Furthermore, it probably won’t take too many readings for the listeners to begin reciting the story with the reader. In the meantime, the illustrations hilariously capture the story while providing tiny background details for the listeners to explore. For those who know of someone who can’t resist the allure of a sparkly, rainbow-tinted unicorn or the hilarious antics of misbehaving creatures, This is the Glade Where Jack Lives cannot be missed.