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Jacob Two-Two is a series of children's books written by Canadian author Mordecai Richler: 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, and Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas (2009) written by Cary Fagan.
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, 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, the latter film starring Gary Busey as the villainous Hooded Fang. The titles by Mordecai Richler have inspired an animated TV series Jacob Two-Two (TV series) produced by Nelvana, in Canada in English on YTV and in French on VRAK TV (French), and in the United States on Qubo.
Posthumous continuation
In September 2009 Tundra Books, the publisher of the Jacob Two-Two series, released a new fourth book 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. 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.)
The character is arguably a descendant of, or, merely inspired by, Cervantes' Sancho Panza. In Don Quijote de la Mancha, an historical novel of the early 17th century, Sancho Panza, Quijote's sideman assistant, was forced to tell a short story to delay his abandonment by the knight, Quijote. As Quijote angrily asserted: "If you tell your story like that, Sancho, saying everything twice, we won't reach the end for two days. Tell it straight." Sancho replied, "The way I'm telling the story, is the way tales are always told where I come from, and I can't tell stories any other way, and you shouldn't ask me, your grace, to tell it some different way." See Don Quijote, translation by Burton Raffel, W.W. Norton publication ISBN 0-393-97281-X, p. 113; Don Quijote de La Mancha, Miguel de Cervantes, Alhambra Clasicos publication ISBN 84-205-0608-7, p.239.
X. Barnaby Dinglebat
Jacob's next-door neighbour is an international spy, working for CMIST (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. He is described as being fairly laid back and easygoing.
Noah and Emma
Jacob'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 and Emma Richler.)
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.)
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. (See Daniel Richler.)
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:
Animation
Jacob Two-Two (TV series), based on the books, was a Canadian animated series for television launched in September 2003.
References
- The Return of Jacob Two-Two
- Don Quijote, translation by Burton Raffel, W.W. Norton publication ISBN 0-393-97281-X, p. 113;
- Don Quijote de La Mancha, Miguel de Cervantes, Alhabra Clasicos publication ISBN 84-205-0608-7, p.239
External links
- Tundra Books website
- Cary Fagan, Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas, Toronto: Tundra Books, 2009 ISBN 978-0-88776-895-8
- Brian Busby, Character Parts: Who's really Who in Canlit, Toronto: Knopf, 2003. p, 129. ISBN 0-676-97579-8, ISBN 0-676-97578-X