Jack o' Hearts is the top card player in the parish and is feeling pretty sure of himself. When a mysterious green stranger challenges him to a card game with stakes higher than high—well, Jack can't resist. Sure, he's never lost a tournament yet, has he?

Jack is as saucy as saucy can be and he's twice as lucky as that—but the game is trickier than it looks. Luckily, Jack finds he's got an ace up his sleeve: the menacing green man's beautiful daughter Ann. She's got as much magic as her father (or so that enchantment crowd says), and she likes the look of Jack.

This hilarious re-imagining of the traditional Newfoundland tale "The Head Card Player of the World" is jam-packed with magic, romance, transformations, impossible tasks, unforgettable characters, a country tune or two, and the ever-present threat of Jack's head ending up on a spear.

A brilliant and hilarious blending of folklore, high literature and pop culture, Jack and the Green Man is Andy Jones and Darka Erdelji's most ambitious and riotous Jack tale yet. Divided into twelve short chapters, this long-form, gorgeously illustrated storybook will delight readers and listeners of all ages.

An actor, writer, storyteller, and director, Andy Jones was born and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland. He worked with CODCO, both in theatre and on television, and with Sheila's Brush Theatre Troupe. He has written, performed, and toured five one-man shows; has performed in theatrical productions across Canada and on numerous television shows; and has appeared in such films as Extraordinary Visitor, The Adventures of Faustus Bidgood, and Rare Birds.

His on-going series of Jack tales, illustrated by Darka Erdelji, has been widely praised: The Queen of Paradise's Garden was named to the IYL's White Ravens List; Jack and the Manger received the 2012 Bruneau Family Award for Children's/Young Adult Literature; Jack and Mary in the Land of Thieves received the 2012 BMO Winterset Award and the 2014 Bruneau Family Award. Jack, the King of Ashes was nominated for the 2015 Ann Connor Brimer Award, the 2015 Governor-General's Literary Award for Illustrated Children's Book, and the 2016 Silver Birch Express Award. Jack and the Green Man has been shortlisted for the 2017/2018 Hackmatack Award.

With Philip Dinn, he is the author/adaptor, of Peg Bearskin, a folktale from Placentia Bay; the first edition of the book was shortlisted for the 2004/05 Hackmatack Award and named to the International Youth Library's prestigious White Ravens List. The book is being republished in a new edition, featuring all new illustrations and design, in February 2019.

Andy Jones' profile page

A native of Slovenia, Darka Erdelji received a Masters of Arts in Puppet Scenography from Prague's Akadmie Muzickych Umeni. She lived in St. John's for several years; during that time, she began collaborating with Andy Jones, first on their puppet play "The Queen of Paradise's Garden", and then on their acclaimed series of illustrated Jack tales. Darka currently lives in Maribor, Slovenia, and designs puppets for Lutkovno Gledalis—e Maribor, a state-of-the-art puppet theatre housed in a renovated medieval monastery. She has illustrated books in Canada and Slovenia.

Darka Erdelji's profile page

Andy Jones' profile page

• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens
• Short-listed, Hackmatack Reading Award