Jumping Jenny

April 15, 2011

A little girl channels her exuberance and excessive pogo-stick jumping into a worthy fundraising venture.

Jenny is a born jumper. She vaults over fire hydrants, bounds over hedges and leaps over fences, but she isn't very careful about when her jumping might not be appropriate. Her teacher scolds, "Jumping is for frogs," when Jenny knocks over the caterpillar bins in the science room, and she is banished from the cafeteria after she upsets the entire hot-lunch cart. Much worse is the incessant teasing she attracts from her classmates, who croak, "Ribbit, ribbit," whenever they see her. "When did my Jumping Jenny become Slumping Jenny?" asks Grandma when she sees a forlorn-looking Jenny sitting on the stoop. Discouraged but still thinking positively, Jenny begins to develop an idea that will put her jumping talent to good use as part of her class "mitzvah project." Friends and family pledge to Jenny's jumpathon, to be held at the school's African village fair that's been to raise money for a Ugandan school. Acrylic-on-canvas cartoon-style paintings depict a Jewish day school, with boys wearing yarmulkes and Hebrew text on the board.

Bari's story of one girl's approach to the Jewish principle of "tikkun olam" (literally, "repair the world") will resonate as readers watch Jenny achieve her exhausting, triumphant success. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-8)

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May 1, 2011

K-Gr 2-This is a story about Tikkun Olam, the act of trying to make the world a better place. Though the illustrations convey the fact that Jenny attends a Hebrew day school, she lives in a diverse community, and children of all backgrounds will relate to her predicament and benefit from the universal lessons imparted. "Your every ounce was made to bounce!" says Jenny's grandma when she notices how forlorn the little girl has become, trying to squelch her perpetual jumping. It's true that her constant motion has been interfering with life at school and at home, but suppressing her nature is not a good solution. Fortunately, Jenny's teacher believes in community service and organizes a fundraising project to assist a needy school in Uganda. Jenny commits to a jumpathon, collecting pledge money for each jump. She simultaneously reaches her goal of 1000 jumps and helps fund computers and books. It's unfortunate that the jumpathon idea comes from a talking pogo stick awkwardly invested with momentary magical powers rather than from Jenny herself. Nonetheless, with its bright, child-friendly cartoonlike illustrations, the book succeeds in reminding children to recognize their own gifts and to remember to give to others.-Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.