''Jacob Two-Two'' is a series of children's books written by Canadian author
Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are ''The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (novel), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and ''Barney's Version (novel), Barney's Versi ...
: ''Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang'' (1975), ''Jacob Two-Two and the Dinosaur'' (1987) and ''Jacob Two-Two's First Spy Case'' (1995) written by
Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are ''The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (novel), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and ''Barney's Version (novel), Barney's Versi ...
, and ''Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas'' (2009) written by
Cary Fagan
Cary Fagan (born 1957) is a Canadian writer of novels, short stories, and children's books. His novel, ''The Student,'' was a finalist for the Toronto Book Award and the Governor General's Literary Award. Previously a short-story collection, ''My ...
.
Series overview
Jacob is the youngest child of five and has to say things twice because people do not hear him the first time, which lead to his distinctive nickname. The character was once believed to have been inspired by
Jacob Richler Jacob Richler is a Canadian newspaper and magazine journalist, and the son of novelist Mordecai Richler and Florence Isabel (Wood). He was the inspiration for his father's '' Jacob Two-Two'' trilogy of children's books.
He was born in England and r ...
, the author's youngest son. Every character in Jacob's family has the same name as their counterpart in the real Richler family. However, despite the names, Richler stated that the characters were not based on his family.
Adaptations
''Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang'' has twice been filmed,
in 1978 and
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
, the latter film starring
Gary Busey
Gary Busey (; born 1944) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Buddy Holly in ''The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the National Society of Film Critics ...
as the villainous Hooded Fang. The titles by Mordecai Richler have inspired an animated TV series
''Jacob Two-Two'' (TV series) produced by
Nelvana
Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...
, in Canada in English on
YTV and in French on
VRAK TV
Vrak (stylized as VRΔK) is a Television in Canada, Canadian French language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel primarily broadcasts live-action programming aimed at youth audiences.
History Background
The youth channel TVJQ () ...
(
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
), and in the United States on
Qubo
Qubo ( ; stylized as qubo) was an American television network for children between the ages of 5 and 14. Owned by Ion Media, it consisted of a 24-hour free-to-air television network often mentioned as the "Qubo channel" (available as a digital ...
.
Posthumous continuation
In September 2009
Tundra Books
In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...
, the publisher of the Jacob Two-Two series, released a new fourth book
The Return of Jacob Two-Two titled ''Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas''. Mordecai Richler had always planned to write new adventures and had started a fourth book before he died in 2001. With the full support of the Richler family, the new book was finished by Canadian author
Cary Fagan
Cary Fagan (born 1957) is a Canadian writer of novels, short stories, and children's books. His novel, ''The Student,'' was a finalist for the Toronto Book Award and the Governor General's Literary Award. Previously a short-story collection, ''My ...
. It is a prequel to the first three books, with the family sailing back to Canada from England after Jacob's father writes an important novel.
Tundra will also re-release the previous three titles in the series with new art and covers by Toronto artist, Dušan Petričić.
Characters
Jacob Two-Two
Jacob is the youngest child in his family and tends not to be heard. As a result, he repeats everything twice automatically, which is the origin of his nickname. (See
Jacob Richler Jacob Richler is a Canadian newspaper and magazine journalist, and the son of novelist Mordecai Richler and Florence Isabel (Wood). He was the inspiration for his father's '' Jacob Two-Two'' trilogy of children's books.
He was born in England and r ...
.)
X. Barnaby Dinglebat
Jacob's next-door neighbour is an international spy, working for CMIST (
Department of National Defence (Canada), Canadian Ministry of Intrigue, Spying, and Tattling). Jacob later helps Mr. Dinglebat and his agent Intrepid (a hamster) on top secret missions.
Morty
Jacob's dad, the writer of the popular "Amazing Ronald" books, is said to be based on
Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are ''The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (novel), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and ''Barney's Version (novel), Barney's Versi ...
. He is described as being fairly laid back and easygoing.
'Noah and Emma
:acob's older twin brother and sister respectively. The two of them are avid readers and wrestling fans, but they do not take Jacob seriously and treat him like a nuisance who cannot keep up with them. They form a superhero team known as "Child Power" and refer to themselves as Fearless O'Toole (Noah) and Intrepid Shapiro (Emma). They pick on Jacob a lot.(See also
Noah Richler
Noah Richler is a Canadians, Canadian author, journalist, and broadcaster who was raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and London, England. He is the son of Canadian novelist Mordecai Richler.
Richler worked for many years as a radio documentary p ...
and
Emma Richler
Emma Richler (born 1961) is a British/Canadian writer.
Biography
Born in London, England, she is the daughter of author Mordecai Richler."And Emma makes five: Sister Crazy joins `an embarrassment of Richlers'". ''Ottawa Citizen'', 6 May 2001. S ...
.)
Marfa
Jacob's oldest sister, who is vain,
loud-mouthed, and short-tempered but very smart. While she and Jacob argue a lot, she is proud of his achievements and they care about each other. (See
Martha Richler
Martha Richler (born October 11, 1964) is an artist and radio presenter. Working for the ''Evening Standard'', she was the first woman to produce a daily cartoon at Associated Newspapers and for London-based newspapers known collectively as "Fle ...
.)
Daniel
:Jacob's oldest brother, the epitome of cool in Jacob's eyes. He treats Jacob like a nuisance at times, but also seems to take him more seriously than Noah, Emma, and Marfa. He likes music, especially classics like the
Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
. (See
Daniel Richler
Daniel Richler (born 1957) is a Canadian arts and pop culture broadcaster and writer."The apprenticeship of Daniel Richler". ''Montreal Gazette'', May 19, 1991.
Biography
Richler was born in London, England."When it's time to stop looking like a ...
.)
Florence
Jacob's mother, who takes everything in her stride.
Mrs Sour Pickle
Jacob's geography teacher Miss Sour Pickle has a permanent scowl plastered on her face, like she smells something bad. She glories in catching her students not paying attention or talking in class, then giving them snap quizzes on the obscure capitals of equally obscure countries. The only thing Sour Pickle loves to do more than torment Two Two is cheer for her favourite team, the marvelous Montreal Marvels. It's her biggest secret that she simply adores hockey.
Miss Darling Sweetiepie
An adorable little old lady down the street constantly roaming about offering everyone she meets delicious baked goods.
'Buford
An odd little kid with a string of unfortunate names. His full name is "Buford Orville Gaylord Pugh". His lack of anxiety and worries aren't due to a lack of intelligence but more to his inability to focus. He is prone to recounting pointless, shaggy dog stories at the drop of a hat. Buford and Jacob are both new at school.
Media adaptations
Film
The first book in the series, ''Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang'' (1975), was adapted into film twice:
*
''Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang'' (1978 film)
*
''Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang'' (1999 film)
Animation
Jacob Two-Two (TV series)
''Jacob Two-Two'' is a Canadian animated series based on the '' Jacob Two-Two'' books written by Mordecai Richler. The show first aired on September 7, 2003 on YTV in Canada. The show also aired on Qubo in the United States (being one of the f ...
, based on the books, was a Canadian animated series for television launched in September 2003.
References
External links
Tundra Books websiteCary Fagan ''Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas'', Toronto: Tundra Books, 2009
*
Brian Busby
Brian John Busby (born August 29, 1962) is a Canadian literary historian and anthologist. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, he attended John Abbott College and Concordia University. Busby began his writing career writing daytime soap operas and ...
, ''Character Parts: Who's really Who in Canlit'', Toronto: Knopf, 2003. p, 129. , {{ISBN, 0-676-97578-X
Canadian children's books
Books by Mordecai Richler
Canadian novels adapted into films
Series of children's books
Fictional characters from Montreal