Gr. 4–6, younger for reading aloud. A potato farmer by trade, J. Jupiter Jackson is a jigsaw puzzle genius by nature. Discovered by a flimflammer named McShaker, Jackson's puzzle prowess becomes the linchpin in a series of increasingly elaborate get-rich-quick schemes. McShaker is an obvious rogue that children will gleefully recognize even as Jackson naively does not. Jackson stars in a Wild West Show, and McShaker uses his jigsaw machine on masterpieces in the New York Museum of Very Expensive Art, but ultimately Jackson's neglected farm animals engineer his homecoming. He marries a widow with nine children and never looks back. San Souci's watercolors have a strong dash of turn-of-the-century Americana, with a generous use of red to brighten the muted but earthy palette. From con artist McShaker's orange muttonchops and glinting monocle to the old plow horse in a straw hat and polka-dot bow tie, San Souci's characterizations are energetic and expressive. Put this on a tall-tale or read-aloud shelf, where the right audience can find it.
\—Janice del Negro, Booklist
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