Once upon a time, and a very good time it was, not in your time, indeed not in my time, but in olden times, when quart bottles held half a gallon and houses were papered with pancakes and pigs run about with forks stuck in their backs seeing who wanted a slice o' ham, there were two old people and they never had no children, and they figured they were too old to ever have any.

So begins The Queen of Paradise's Garden, a wonderful adaptation of a traditional Newfoundland tale, and the first in an ongoing series that combines the telling wit and resonant language of acclaimed Newfoundland actor, writer and comedian Andy Jones with the charming illustrations of Slovenian-born puppeteer and artist Darka Erdelji.

Of course, it's clear from the story's beginning that there are children on the way, and one of those children is Jack, the delightful, mischievous, big-hearted hero of so many Newfoundland tales. Told with the humor, warmth and sly wit that have made Jones one of the Island's finest and best-loved storytellers, The Queen of Paradise's Garden follows Jack on his way to the land of the Queen of Paradise, three miles this side of the end of the world, where he searches for a magic fruit to make his parents young again, and finds quite a few other handy things as well.

The story is a free adaptation of a tale told by Albert Heber Keeping of Grand Bank, which he got from Billy Quann of Sagona Island; Keeping's version was published in Herbert Halpert and John Widdowson's seminal collection, Folktales of Newfoundland.

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

• Short-listed, The Bruneau Family Award for Children’s/Young Adult Literature
• Commended, The White Ravens
• Short-listed, Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage and History Award

★"Jones's retelling effectively captures the rhythms of oral storytelling and the cadences of Newfoundland dialect. Illustrator Darka Erdelji's illustrations are a fine match. Enchanting, magical, and very skillful, they blend rich, evocative blues, greens, and reds, delicate line drawings in black and white, and rough, folk-art representations of the characters. All in all, a wonderful, rollicking tale."

Quill & Quire, starred review

"Andy Jones traditional folk tale opening has its own mischievous twist, 'Once upon a time, and a very good time it was, not in your time, indeed not in my time, but in olden times when quart bottles held half a gallon...,' and we are sitting, poised, at once ready for the obstacles, the awards, the good deeds, indeed for the Queen of Paradise herself. This is traditional storytelling at its best."

The Deakin Newsletter

"The reteller is writer and actor Andy Jones, a founding member of Newfoundland's CODCO troupe. With this provenance, you might expect something original and quite fine; you won't be disappointed."

The Globe and Mail

"Andy Jones and Darka Erdelji, along with small press publisher Marnie Parsons and designer Veselina Tomova, have created a marvellous book that deserves a place in every school, library and folktale collection. Highly recommended."

Canadian Review of Materials

The Queen of Paradise’s Garden

The Queen of Paradise’s Garden is a traditional Newfoundland tale retold by Andy Jones and published by a “micro press” in Newfoundland. This small press did a lovely job. Andy Jones, a well-known storyteller, captures in writing the Newfoundland dialect, including patterned phrases, sparse descriptions, as well as unique spellings of words.

The story revolves around Jack, the youngest of three sons, who travels to the Queen of Paradise’s home and steals her enchanted fiddle, magic bread, and everlasting wine and fruit, which has the power to make the old young again. Despite his thievery, Jack is a generous soul and his compassion ends up saving him from the Queen of Paradise’s wrath, as well as helping a myriad of people along the way. Jack, a character that stars in a number of Newfoundland folktales, is an unlikely hero, being both poor and young, yet his kind-heart, perseverance, cleverness and courage set him apart from his brothers.

Darka Erdelji’s charming accompanying illustrations, mostly in blues and greens, have the feel of Stéphane Poulin’s early work. They consist of many spot illustrations and are slightly surrealistic. Erdelji is a puppeteer as well as an illustrator, and she and Andy Jones have put together a puppet show based on this book.

Because this tale is longer than a common picture book and is told in the oral tradition, I can see this book best read aloud to an older audience. For those readers who may be perplexed about the unusual language, there is a helpful explanation about the cadence and sentence style. This unique book is a worthy addition to any collection of folk or fairytales.