cover image Jack Frost

Jack Frost

William Joyce. S&S/Atheneum, $17.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-4424-3043-3

This third picture book in Joyce’s Guardians of Childhood series, following The Man in the Moon (2011) and The Sandman (2012), recounts the backstory of Jack Frost, the only “Guardian who is a child himself.” As Joyce tells it, Frost was originally a creature called Nightlight, who protected the young Man in the Moon from Pitch, the Nightmare King. After defeating Pitch, Nightlight transformed into Jack Frost, his loneliness bringing winter weather. Joyce’s cinematic artwork continues to captivate, but the narrative covers so much ground so quickly that neither the stakes nor Jack’s redemption carry much emotional weight. Ages 4–8. [em]Agent: Michael Siegel, Michael Siegel & Associates. (Oct.) [/em]