The Jacks Book & the Jacks [With 14 Jacks, Red Rubber Ball and Pouch]

by Sally Chabert

Hot on the heels of the red-hot "The Yo-Yo Book & The Yo-Yo" comes "The Jacks Book & The Jacks." Packaged with all the equipment a kid needs - 14 metal jacks, a red rubber ball, and a cloth pouch to carry and store them in - it's the fourth title in the series that celebrates great American childhood games. And whether it's called Jacks or Huripapa, Cincos Marias, Maakgep, Abhadho, Iguni, or Zhua San, it just may be one of the oldest and most universal games ever. Archaeologists believe Cro-Magnon ancestors originally played a version of Jacks to hone the hand-eye coordination necessary for hunting and fighting. Ancient Greek and Roman kids played knucklebones, a direct predecessor of modern Jacks. Over the years, the jacks in Jacks have been pebbles, bones, seeds, little bags of rice, and, of course, the metal and plastic jacks we know today. Illustrated throughout with black-and-white photographs, "The Jacks Book" moves from basic rules, fundamentals, and do's and don'ts to the classic American games - Eggs in the Basket, Pigs in the Pen, Jacks on the Rooftop, Five Finger, Challenge, and more. There are variations: "weird" Jacks; instructions for making international jacks (such as the bags of rice used in Singapore); Jacks songs and trivia; eight other activities to do with jacks; and a knucklebones recipe. Jacks is play-it-anywhere, play-it-anytime fun. Just follow the bouncing ball.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761116273
• ISBN13: 9780761116271
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: Workman Publishing
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 7.9" x 6.5"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

The Jacks Book & the Jacks

Excellent book with real old fashioned metal jacks! The only downside is that the jacks are stuck to the back page, and removing the box would damage the book . . . still worth it though.

Great Book On Jacks With Heavy Weight Metal Jacks & Ball

This book contained many variations from around the world of the game of Jacks. It's everything you ever wanted to know about Jacks. It even contains instructions for making your own, though with the excellent set of heavy weight metal (deluxe) jacks and ball that they include you won't need to. They even include a cloth bag to store it all in. Relive your childhood and refresh your memories with this book or better yet pass it on to a new generation. The only negative is that there aren't many illustrations in this book so younger children may need help in reading and following the instructions, but older children won't have any problems following the well written instructions.