Fearless Jake

Alison Mews is co-ordinator of the Centre for Instructional Services at
The Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Jake is fearless when it comes to navigating the perilous pitfalls his
imagination creates on his way to school. Reality is willingly suspended
by children sharing this book, as the familiar route to school is
fraught with danger that only Jake the Explorer or Jake the Spy can
circumvent. The first page of the story shows Jake missing his bus and
provides, in soft sepia tones, a view of the path to school. Children
will flip back to this page often as Jake’s imagination takes flight
on successive pages, with the curb repair ditch becoming a yawning
canyon, the puddle a crocodile-infested river, and the sand-filled
playground a great desert with circling vultures. The final page shows
Jake, the Star Student, bursting into a very ordinary classroom complete
with surprised teacher and classmates, to begin another exciting day at
school. This page, like the first, uses understated colors that contrast
with the wild, intense colors Thurman uses to depict the fanciful
sequences in this enjoyable book. Recommended.