Review
This book is clearly the most joyful, exuberant, fun-filled read-aloud of the decade and there's a wonderful message here besides! When it appears that the world has lost its sense of humor, the King banishes the Jester. Down, but not out, the Jester and Pharley, his alter ego, search the universe, ultimately finding and reinstating laughter to its rightful place: that of regenerating the human spirit.
In creating a book for children ages two to a hundred-and-two which invites the read-alouder to perform, rather than merely read, Saltzman has pioneered a new genre: the laughalong. For never has the adage laugh and the world laughs with you been more apropos than when Saltzman provides the book's narrator with laugh lines which compel listeners and read-alouders to laugh aloud together.
Besides providing terrific entertainment, the book provides an alternative to anyone faced with adversity, whether it be financial, emotional or physical: I turn my sadness upside down and stand it on its head, says the Jester. Maurice Sendak's Afterword makes clear that David Saltzman did just that in his life as well as in his art. Instead of wallowing in self-pity for the Hodgkin's disease which claimed his life before age twenty-three, he created a magnificently illustrated, ebulliently told story in which he left laughter as his legacy. --Read-Aloud Review, Fall 1995
Fifteen years after its debut, the late David Saltzman's The Jester Has Lost His Jingle has truly become one of the favorite children's books in America. The work of the Saltzman family's nonprofit Jester & Pharley Phund goes even further and makes the book's story of hope and laughter an inspiration for school kids and children with severe illnesses in hospitals around the country. In the Jester--and in the work the Phund does for others--David Saltzman and his extraordinary spirit are still very much alive. --Larry King, July 2010
The Jester awakes one morning to find laughter missing in his kingdom, and he sets off to recover it in this whimsical rhyming story, which teaches kids about love and overcoming overwhelming odds. Maurice Sendak provides the afterward to an excellent, well-illustrated story which provides a strong message about positive thinking and individual power. --Midwest Library Review, 1995
From the Back Cover
In this charming tale, the Jester awakes one morning to find laughter missing in his kingdom and he and his helpmate, Pharley, set off on a quest to find it. They ultimately discover that not only can laughter redeem a weary world, it also can provide the best tonic for anyone facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
The book has garnered much praise:
Author-artist Maurice Sendak: David was a natural craftsman and storyteller. His passionate picture book is issued out of a passionate heart. David's Jester soars with life.
Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau: A sweet fable about a cheerful soul who temporarily loses faith in himself, but ultimately reaffirms his true calling helping others discover the joy within themselves. Read it and smile.
Actress-comedian Carol Burnett: The Jester Has Lost His Jingle is a magical story that captures the healing power of laughter.
About the Author
Author-Artist David Saltzman graduated from Yale University in 1989, receiving the David Everett Chantler Award as the senior who throughout his college career best exemplified the qualities of courage and strength of character and high moral purpose. During his senior year at Yale, David was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. For the next year and a half he kept a comprehensive journal of his thoughts and drawings while completing The Jester Has Lost His Jingle. In his journal, David wrote that the best we can do is live life, enjoy it and know it is meant to be enjoyed, know how important and special every time...moment...person is. David died on March 2, 1990, 11 days before his 23rd birthday. His family published The Jester Has Lost His Jingle five years after David's death.
