Jackrabbit McCabe and the Electric Telegraph

by Lucy Margaret Rozier, Leo Espinosa (Illustrator)

Overview

The fastest man in the West meets his match in this deliciously clever original tall tale. With his extra-long legs, Jackrabbit McCabe can outrun anything on the American frontier: horses, trains, and even twisters. So of course, everyone in the town of Windy Flats always counts on his speed when a message has to get out fast. Then something new comes to town: the telegraph, which can send Morse code messages with the speed of electricity. At first, no one believes the newfangled contraption can deliver a message quicker than Jackrabbit. . . . But in a race between man and machine, who will be left in the dust?
 
An author's note includes information about the invention of the telegraph, a Morse code key, and a riddle written in Morse code for kids to transcribe.

"A strikingly accomplished debut.... A terrific tall tale about the costs and opportunities of technology." —Publishers Weekly, Starred

"Good, quick-moving fun. Kids may marvel that communication existed before the telephone and Internet." —Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780385378437
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	09/08/2015
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	36,220
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 10.60(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD930L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Lucy Margaret Rozier makes her picture-book debut with Jackrabbit McCabe and the Electric Telegraph. She grew up folk dancing and drawing in North Carolina and worked for many years as a fine artist and a commercial artist in the Boston area. She has two grown daughters and lives in her native North Carolina with her husband and their dog, Rosie.
 
Leo Espinosa’s illustrations have graced the pages of the New Yorker, Wired, Esquire, and the New York Times, among many other publications. He is also a commercial artist whose work can be seen on toys, games, stationery, and clothing. Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, he lives with his family in Salt Lake City. Learn more at studioespinosa.com.

Editorial Reviews

★ 06/15/2015
Born on the Great Plains in the early 19th century, ginger-haired Jackrabbit McCabe has preternaturally long legs that make him a natural-born runner and a hometown hero: “By the time he turned eighteen, he’d beat every stagecoach, antelope, and locomotive in the territory.” But his fleet-footedness is no match for the newfangled telegraph, which decisively beats him in a challenge to deliver a message to a town 25 miles away. “Jackrabbit felt lower than a snake’s navel,” but he soon discovers an upside: the telegraph requires swift fingers to work the keys and swift legs to hand-deliver messages. Rozier makes a strikingly accomplished debut; her appropriately brisk prose has the perfect blend of folksy lilt and knowing wink. Espinosa (Otis and Rae and the Grumbling Splunk) is just as successful: his crisply angular drawings, comic expressiveness, and cinematic framings bring to mind Chuck Jones’s classic “Dover Boys” cartoon. It’s a terrific tall tale about the costs and opportunities of technology, and it may assuage a few parents worried about its impact on their own offspring’s future employability. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

2015-06-10
This original tall tale is literally up to speed. Jackrabbit McCabe is the fastest man in Windy Flats, a mid-19th-century town. With legs that are preternaturally long, Jackrabbit races everything, human, animal, and mechanical—and wins every time. His neighbors rely on him to deliver messages with lightning speed. Then fate, in the guise of a new invention called the telegraph, rushes in. Everyone in Windy Flats scoffs at the idea that "any newfangled contraption" is faster than their man, and he eagerly takes up the challenge to "race" against it. For kids it won't be a foregone conclusion that the electrical device proves faster than any pair of human legs, yet for the first time, Jackrabbit must admit defeat. Happily, a logical ending is in store: our speedy hero models good sportsmanship by accepting loss gracefully, and he eagerly becomes the town's telegraph operator and newspaper deliverer. Naturally, he fulfills his duties remarkably quickly. Readers will find that the story, written in folksy terms and rhythms, clips along at a fast pace, too, and the fittingly retro illustrations are filled with action, energy, and good humor. Occasional changes in typeface and size add to the excitement of the telling. The backmatter includes a helpful historical author's note, a Morse code key, and a riddle in Morse code for readers to solve. Good, quick-moving fun. Kids may marvel that communication existed before the telephone and Internet. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews

"Rozier makes a strikingly accomplished debut; her appropriately brisk prose has the perfect blend of folksy lilt and knowing wink. Espinosa is just as successful: his crisply angular drawings, comic expressiveness, and cinematic framings bring to mind Chuck Jones’s classic 'Dover Boys' cartoon. It’s a terrific tall tale about the costs and opportunities of technology, and it may assuage a few parents worried about its impact on their own offspring’s future employability” —Publishers Weekly, Starred

"Readers will find that the story, written in folksy terms and rhythms, clips along at a fast pace, and the fittingly retro illustrations are filled with action, energy, and good humor. Occasional changes in typeface and size add to the excitement of the telling. The backmatter includes a helpful historical author's note, a Morse code key, and a riddle in Morse code for readers to solve. Good, quick-moving fun. Kids may marvel that communication existed before the telephone and Internet." —Kirkus Reviews

"In the tall-tale tradition of John Henry, McCabe engages in a man-versus-machine competition by trying to deliver a message more quickly than it can be sent by telegraph. The telegram arrives before McCabe, but this original story still ends happily. McCabe’s speedy fingers are adept with Morse code, leading to a perfect job as a telegraph operator. Using Photoshop and pencil, Espinosa creates colorful, dynamic images that burst from the page. An imaginative book design includes McCabe leaping across a two-page spread, or multiple smaller images showing rapid motion, communicating action and speed throughout." —Booklist

From the Publisher

09/01/2015
K-Gr 2—Jackrabbit McCabe's legs are so fast and so long that by the time he's 18 he's outraced everything in his path, including every "stagecoach, antelope, and locomotive in the territory." In his town of Windy Flats, Jackrabbit is the go-to man when one is in need of speed. When a newfangled invention called the telegraph arrives in town, it only makes sense for Jackrabbit to see if he can beat its first message to Sandy Bluff. At this point, the folksy story shifts from tall tale to one of progress and change as Jackrabbit inevitably loses the race. Unsure of his place anymore, Jackrabbit's down in the dumps, but his spirits are lifted at book's end when he settles in as the town's first telegraph operator. This sweet tale never fully reaches its potential. Neither Jackrabbit's prowess, the theme of progress, nor the history of the telegraph are developed to the point of capturing most young readers' attention. Ultimately, the sophistication of Espinosa's spot-on illustrations prove the brightest point. The author's note at book's end (many details of which one wishes had been integrated into the story) may prove the biggest hit with those interested in learning about the telegraph's history or in playing around with the Morse code key provided. VERDICT An attractive, though additional, title for collections seeking texts about the impact of new technology.—Jill Heritage Maza, Montclair Kimberley Academy, Montclair, NJ

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