Mighty Jack
by Ben Hatke
First Second (September 6, 2016)
Fiction * Fairy Tale Adaptation * Graphic Novel
Audience: Ages 9 to 12 years
IndieBound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads:
Jack might be the only kid in the world who's dreading summer. But he's got a good reason: summer is when his single mom takes a second job and leaves him at home to watch his autistic kid sister, Maddy. It's a lot of responsibility, and it's boring, too, because Maddy doesn't talk. Ever. But then, one day at the flea market, Maddy does talk—to tell Jack to trade their mom's car for a box of mysterious seeds. It's the best mistake Jack has ever made.

What starts as a normal little garden out back behind the house quickly grows up into a wild, magical jungle with tiny onion babies running amok, huge, pink pumpkins that bite, and, on one moonlit night that changes everything…a dragon.

KK's thoughts on the book:
In June, I acquired an advanced copy of MIGHTY JACK at ALA's Annual Conference. I read the book on the plane ride home knowing that when I got home I would need to turn over the copy to the 10 year old. I will call her KK for this purpose. Since giving it to her, she has read the book at least 10 times and I have found it in bed with her at night. The book wasn't even officially out and she was asking for the sequel. Yes, I would say that she liked it.

For this post, I sat down and asked her some questions.

Me: What did you like the most about MIGHTY JACK?

KK: I really liked the journey that Jack is on because of a packet of seeds and what the seeds can create.

Me: Why did you read it so many times?

KK: I really liked the ending and how things kept popping up that you didn’t think would happen.

Me: What were some of your favorite parts?

KK: Jack and Maddy’s relationship: It is not like most brother and sisters but they got along really well.

When Lily helped Jack with all of the weapons and armor that her brother made for the recent Ren Fair.

Me: Who would you recommend this book to?

KK: I would recommend it to anyone who is into action books and recommend it to all of my friends.

MIGHTY JACK is sure to be popular with young readers looking for an exciting, suspenseful read.

When thinking about my favorite Fairy Tales and Fairy Tale adaptations, I realized I couldn't name just one. Here are four of my favorites....

A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz (Dutton Books for Young Readers) - As one young reader described this..."deliciously creepy" just like a Grimm Tale should be.