Upon discovering his apprenticeship with Ledger & Ledger has nothing to do with the wonders of the printed word-and everything to do instead with columns and rows and misbehaving sums-12-year-old Otherjack wraps his dictionary in his second-best shirt and flee's the Opportunities School for Orphans and Foundlings in Sarah Ellis' The Several Lives of Orphan Jack (Groundwood $14.95). "Boldness and bundles,"; he says. "That's the life of an ex-bookkeeper."; The enterprising lad makes his escape at sunrise, hidden in a fold of sheep, whereupon all his 'otherness,' such as the school's bells, rules and masters, drop away until he's just himself. Jack. "Views, vicissitudes and vastness,"; he says. "That's the life of a bird of passage."; But where to sleep? What to eat? How can a penniless former scullery boy make his way? By selling whims and notions, of course, impressions and fancies, all the ideas that had come to Jack in the hours of scrubbing pots and sleepless nights lying in a cold, mean bed. The line of customers never grows shorter and the supply of merchandise never dwindles. Not everyone, though, is ready for "fresh air for the brain,"; especially the unimaginative, draconian mayor. "Toffee and tyrants,"; says Jack. "That's the life of an ideas peddler."; Bolstered by his old dictionary, he hoists his pack and stalwartly heads down the road to adventure. With illustrations by Quebec artist Bruno St-Aubin, The Several Lives of Orphan Jack is the latest gem for master storyteller Sarah Ellis. A Governor General's Award winner for Pick-Up Sticks and Out of the Blue (awarded a Mr. Christie and IODE Violet Downey as well), Ellis is a sought-after conference speaker and the first children's author to be named Writer in Residence at Massey College at the University of Toronto. 0-88899-529-6

[BCBW Summer 2004]