Jack Gets Zapped

Written by Mac Barnett and Greg Pizzoli

Narrated by Jonathan Todd Ross

Hi, Jack!
Jack is a good guy, but he can also be bad.
In this book:
• Jack plays a video game.
• There is a big zap!
• Jack gets trapped in the TV.

Who will save Jack?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781980082149

Mac Barnett

Mac Barnett was named the 2025–26 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress. He’s the author of more than sixty books for children, including Sam & Dave Dig a Hole, illustrated by Jon Klassen, which won a Caldecott Honor and the E. B. White Read Aloud Award. Mac’s books include the First Cat in Space graphic novels and the picture book A Polar Bear in the Snow, all illustrated by Shawn Harris. He lives in Oakland, California.

Reviews for Jack Gets Zapped

[sweetiegherkin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

During a bad rainstorm, the Lady and Rex the dog just want to snuggle up and read, while Jack is busy playing video games. But when a bolt of lightning zaps Jack into his game and he is defeated by the big bad Boss of the game, who will come to Jack's rescue?

I haven't been the hugest fan of these Jack books before, but this particular title was very amusing. I really appreciated how the illustrations of the video game are pixelated and are clearly an homage to Mario Bros, making them easily recognizable to readers of all ages. Also, the Lady jumping in to save Jack from the game and progressing from not great at navigating the controller even to beating the game to becoming addicted to gaming is both relatable and hilarious.

The repetition of many words and phrases make this book relatively easy for beginning readers. The repeated line of "then Jack does a dance" after every successful gaming move was especially funny. The seven short chapters will make young readers feel accomplished with having read a "long" book, even though it is fact not terribly lengthy.

I still don't quite understand the relationship between Lady and Jack, or why Rex seems like a pet and Jack seems like a child -- or at least anthropomorphized to some extent, although he doesn't quite seem to talk. There's also an unnamed narrator who seems to be somewhere between speaking to the reader and speaking to the characters ...

Nevertheless, I did enjoy this title and find it a funny and unproblematic book to share with young readers.