Edited by Mary Bernard
Illustrated by Charles Liedl
What does it take to make a great adventure?
Noël Polchies was one of George Frederick Clarke’s best friends. When he wrote the Jimmy-Why stories he imagined how it would have been, as a child, to have Noël as a guide for adventures in the woodlands of New Brunswick. Jimmy-Why was tagged with this nickname because he was curious about everything.
Going to the woods is always an adventure, whether for camping, hiking, fishing, or hunting. Jimmy-Why is keyed up for this kind of adventure; Noël Polchies, a skilled woodsman of the Wolastoqey, is the perfect guide.
Jimmy-Why & Noël Polchies: Their Adventures in the Great Woods is filled with the practical details of wilderness living. But beyond this, it conveys love of the beauty of the forest and a respect for all living things.
My grandfather wrote these two books for young children over sixty years ago. Children have been reading them ever since. This new edition combines both books in one volume, bringing all the Jimmy-Why stories together for a new generation of readers.
Noël Polchies was a real person. I have put his photograph in the front of this book. He was one of my grandfather’s best friends. He was generous and kind. My grandfather said, “He never boasted. He was truthful and courteous. Never, to my knowledge did he say ill of any person save…a rascal.” You will meet that “rascal” in this book.
My brother and I read the Jimmy-Why stories when they first came out. We were young children, about the same age as Jimmy-Why, and we loved them. I hope you do, too.
Mary Bernard
Cambridge, England
March 2016
George Frederick Clarke (1883-1974) is one of New Brunswick’s best writers. He is the author of thirteen books, including Six Salmon Rivers, Song of the Reel, and Someone Before Us. His short stories have recently been collected in The Ghost of Nackawick Portage.
Mary Bernard is editor of the George Frederick Project, which is bringing his books back into print. She is Clarke’s granddaughter and lives in Cambridge, England.
Paperback • 147 pages • $20.00(CAD), $16.00(US) • ISBN 978-1-988299-02-0 • Published 2016/09/08