Author: Tamra Andrews

Jack and Jill and the Man in the Moon is a rhyming picture book based on an ancient Scandinavian legend that explained the waxing and waning moon and that served as the basis of the Jack and Jill nursery rhyme. When the people of ancient Sweden looked at the patterns of light and dark on the lunar surface, they saw not a “man in the moon” but two children, Hjuki and Bil, translated over time as Jack and Jill. Jack and Jill leave their farmhouse every night in a glen and climb a hill to fetch a pail of water from a well, and when the moon sees the children, he sweeps them into the sky to become his companions.

Jack and Jill is one of those stories that has been retold multiple times, so how do you make it different? This project challenged my creativity at every step, and this is exactly why I love it so much. Every element was pure magic and whimsy, an enchanting project to work on! There was also the challenge of showing the waxing and waning of the moon, in a not too obvious way, so throughout the book, you can see the moon character transforming into the different phases.

Jack and Jill was awarded a Purple Dragonfly Book Award and a 5 stars review from Reader’s Favorite.