Jack may be good at following recipes, but he’s not very good at following directions. When his two older brothers fail to find the golden bird that made off with their father’s prized golden apples, Jack steps up for the job. But there are many challenges to be faced along the way; without the help of a fast and friendly fox, Jack just might not make it. With a smart princess who loves grunge rock, angry kings, magic animals, conniving siblings, and tempting casinos, this delightful re-mix of an old Cape Breton Jack tale seamlessly blends modern and ancient. Acclaimed Canadian storyteller Dan Yashinsky brings wit and whimsy to this wonder tale. Ekaterina Khlebnikova’s brilliant illustrations blend old and new creating a gorgeous visual world; a perfect complement to Yashinsky’s re-telling. Together they serve up a book that will delight readers and listeners of all ages.

Dan Yashinsky is a storyteller and writer from Toronto. He is the author of I Am Full, Golden Apples, Swimming With Chaucer, Suddenly They Heard Footsteps (winner of the Ann Izard Storytellers' Choice Award), and Tales for an Unknown City and the editor of four acclaimed collections of Canadian storytelling: Ghostwise, At the Edge, Next Teller, and Tales for an Unknown City. Dan co-founded both the Toronto Storytelling Festival and the Storytellers School of Toronto and began the 1001 Friday Nights of Storytelling in 1978, a weekly open evening of oral stories in Toronto that continues to this day. He has been a storyteller-in-residence at Queen's University, Toronto Public Library, The Stop Community Food Centre, Storytelling Toronto, UNICEF Canada and Baycrest Health Services, working in psychiatry, palliative care, and in the dementia program. Dan has performed at festivals in Israel, Sweden, Norway, Holland, England, Wales, Germany, Brazil, Austria, France, the U.S., Singapore, and Ireland, as well as all across Canada.

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Raised in a family of book lovers, Ekaterina Khlebnikova dreamt of being an illustrator or artist from a very young age. A graduate of the Moscow State University Ivana Fedorova, Faculty of Graphic Arts, she is a member of the Moscow Union of Artists (Department of Prints). She has participated in numerous exhibitions, both in Russia and elsewhere, and is a winner at Moscow’s International Festival of Book Illustration and Visual Literature (MORS). She has created artwork for books published in Russia, China, Serbia, and now Canada.

Ekaterina Klebnikova's profile page