Jacob Two-two on the High Seas

He’s back! The late Mordecai Richler had planned more adventures for his small hero and now, with the full support of the Richler family, award-winning author Cary Fagan carries on the tradition in a hilarious story for a whole new generation of Jacob fans.

After Jacob Two-Two’s father writes a very important novel, the family makes plans to move to Canada.

They board the SS Spring-a-Leak for a journey across the ocean. Jacob Two-Two makes some new acquaintances — the unbelievably handsome Captain Sparkletooth, the acrobatic Bubov Brothers, the failed toy inventor Mr. Peabody, and the giant but gentle Morgenbesser. Most important, he makes friends with young Cindy Snootcastle, who keeps a secret treasure in her pocket.

But something is wrong on the SS Spring-a-Leak. A series of clues — a black eye patch; a parrot who squawks “Apple sauce in your underpants!”; and a sailing ship flying the Jolly Roger — can only mean trouble. Will the intrepid Shapiro and the fearless O’Toole really be left on a desert island? Will Jacob Two-Two be made to walk the plank?

Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas is a treat for those who know Jacob and for those who are about to meet one of the most endearing characters in children’s literature.

Mordecai Richler was the author of ten successful novels, numerous screenplays, and several books of nonfiction, his novel Barney’s Version was an acclaimed bestseller and the winner of The Giller Prize, the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour, the QSpell Award, and the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Novel in Canada and the Caribbean. Richler also received two Governor General’s Literary Awards and was short-listed twice for the Booker Prize. Mordecai Richler died in Montreal, in 2001.

Cary Fagan has received the Toronto Book Award, the Jewish Book Committee Prize for Fiction, and the Mr. Christie Silver Medal. His recent picture books include Ten Old Men and a Mouse, My New Shirt, and Thing-Thing. His children’s novels include The Fortress of Kaspar Snit (Silver Birch Honor Book), Directed by Kaspar Snit (Silver Birch nominee), and Ten Lessons for Kaspar Snit. Cary Fagan lives in Toronto.

Dusan Petricic is the award-winning illustrator of more than twenty books for children including My New Shirt by Cary Fagan. A former professor of illustration and book design, his work appears in The New York Times, Scientific American, The Wall Street Journal, and The Toronto Star. He lives in Toronto.