The Jacks Book and the Jacks

Hot on the heels of the red-hot "The Yo-Yo Book & The Yo-Yo" comes "The Jacks Book & The Jacks." Packaged with all the equipment a kid needs - 14 metal jacks, a red rubber ball, and a cloth pouch to carry and store them in - it's the fourth title in the series that celebrates great American childhood games. And whether it's called Jacks or Huripapa, Cincos Marias, Maakgep, Abhadho, Iguni, or Zhua San, it just may be one of the oldest and most universal games ever.

Archaeologists believe Cro-Magnon ancestors originally played a version of Jacks to hone the hand-eye coordination necessary for hunting and fighting.

Ancient Greek and Roman kids played knucklebones, a direct predecessor of modern Jacks.

Over the years, the jacks in Jacks have been pebbles, bones, seeds, little bags of rice, and, of course, the metal and plastic jacks we know today.

Illustrated throughout with black-and-white photographs, "The Jacks Book" moves from basic rules, fundamentals, and do's and don'ts to the classic American games - Eggs in the Basket, Pigs in the Pen, Jacks on the Rooftop, Five Finger, Challenge, and more.

There are variations: "weird" Jacks; instructions for making international jacks (such as the bags of rice used in Singapore); Jacks songs and trivia; eight other activities to do with jacks; and a knucklebones recipe.

Jacks is play-it-anywhere, play-it-anytime fun. Just follow the bouncing ball.