Jack's World touches on some heavy themes many children's stories don't​...

 

There are two things that will never cease to fascinate me: the innocent mind and wild imagination of a child, and the capacity of grown humans to do awful things to each other. Maybe that's why I'm so interested in war. It delivers the sense of awe and purpose that the imagination can barely grasp, yet it makes human beings capable of the most heinous acts. 

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Jack's World is a story about war, imagination, childhood, and growing up. It doesn't shy away from diffucult issues. In fact - difficult issues are at the core of its experience. Jack creates an imaginary world to escape from the horrors of the real one. He becomes a superhero to feel powerful, like he can change things for the better - yet the power intoxicates him, and he must walk the line between superhero and supervillain.

 

I don't intend for this to be a dark book, however. I want it to be honest. Jack is loosely modeled off of me as a child. I spent all my time creating imaginary worlds filled with wars and heroes. The imagination of child is a beautiful thing because it is so powerful in its ability to create illusions. The realization that Jack undergoes - that the world is more grey than black and white - is another thing that is based on my own life. I have had many moments - even as a child - of deep existential confusion, when I realized something that was either purely good or purely evil was much more complicated than that. I want to the reader to feel the difficulty of understanding the world, through the eyes and imagination of Jack.

 

My greatest inspirations are listed below. The House of 60 Fathers is especially worth mentioning. It is a book, with a happy ending, that deals with the most disturbing (and honest) material I have ever encountered in a children's book. It is about a young boy in China during WWII. You should all read it...

 

Inspirations:

Avatar, the Last Airbender (TV Series)

The House of 60 Fathers (Children's Book)

Pan's Labyrinth (Film)