• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

and Peg lay down on the floor, but she couldn't sleep. She twisted and turned all night, just couldn't get to sleep. There was something bad about that place, she could feel it right down into her bones. So she got up and she walked around the old woman's house. Now, she soon knew that the old woman was a witch, for in her kitchen she found a decanter that could never be emptied. She poured wine into it, turned it upside down, the wine flowed and flowed and flowed. Water same thing, milk same thing. Flowed and flowed. Never stopped. Then out in the barn, she found a lantern that could shine a half mile light. You didn't have to fill it. You didn't have to light it. All you had to do was touch it, and it shone for a half a mile. And touch it Peg did, and it shone for half a mile ... .Ð from Peg Bearskin

Peg's big, ugly and hairy, but she has the wit, tenacity, and courage to outfox a witch and find husbands for her two beautiful sisters and one for herself as well. A typical folktale? Well, perhaps. But Peg is no typical heroine, and the ending of her story is no typical ending. This story was adapted by Philip Dinn and Andy Jones for "Jack-Five-Oh," a storytelling play written to mark the 50th anniversary of Newfoundland's entry into confederation with Canada; Mercedes Barry, who told the story in some versions of the play, helped refine the adaptation.

Jones and Dinn created their version from that told by Mrs. Elizabeth Brewer of Freshwater, Placentia Bay, and collected in Herbert Halpert and John Widdowson's Folktales of Newfoundland. Elly Cohen's linocut illustrations perfectly capture the dark humour and beauty of the tale.

Musician, actor, storyteller, and writer, Philip Dinn (1949-2013) was a founding member of Figgy Duff, Newfoundland's acclaimed folk rock band, and of Sheila's Brush Theatre Troupe. He appeared in many television shows and feature-length films, and in numerous plays, among them Jack-Five-Oh and Jack Meets the Cat. For several years, he divided his time between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, where he continued his work with traditional Newfoundland stories. He was one of the co-adapters of Peg Bearskin.

Philip Dinn's profile page

An actor, writer, storyteller, and director, Andy Jones was born and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland. He worked with CODCO, both in theatre and on television, and with Sheila's Brush Theatre Troupe. He has written, performed, and toured five one-man shows; has performed in theatrical productions across Canada and on numerous television shows; and has appeared in such films as Extraordinary Visitor, The Adventures of Faustus Bidgood, and Rare Birds.

His on-going series of Jack tales, illustrated by Darka Erdelji, has been widely praised: The Queen of Paradise's Garden was named to the IYL's White Ravens List; Jack and the Manger received the 2012 Bruneau Family Award for Children's/Young Adult Literature; Jack and Mary in the Land of Thieves received the 2012 BMO Winterset Award and the 2014 Bruneau Family Award. Jack, the King of Ashes was nominated for the 2015 Ann Connor Brimer Award, the 2015 Governor-General's Literary Award for Illustrated Children's Book, and the 2016 Silver Birch Express Award. Jack and the Green Man has been shortlisted for the 2017/2018 Hackmatack Award.

With Philip Dinn, he is the author/adaptor, of Peg Bearskin, a folktale from Placentia Bay; the first edition of the book was shortlisted for the 2004/05 Hackmatack Award and named to the International Youth Library's prestigious White Ravens List. The book is being republished in a new edition, featuring all new illustrations and design, in February 2019.

Andy Jones' profile page

Elly Cohen's profile page

• Short-listed, Hackmatack Award

"Sometimes a book is more than the text and illustrations between its covers; sometimes a book is a work of art in itself. The story of Peg Bearskin and the accompanying illustrations by Elly Cohen are a wonder, but to have a book with as much time and detail afforded to the type, design and printing, is an added bonus these days when publishers seem to deal with this as an afterthought. Indeed, a book as object d'art is a rare find these days."Ð Greg Locke, The Sunday Independent

"This story is told in an immediate conversational voice, full of the salt tang of our easternmost province. The adapters Dinn and Jones, of Figgy Duff and CODCO fame respectively, have left enough traces of the Newfoundland dialect to give the tale authentic flavour ... . Cohen's black-and-white linocuts, reminiscent of David Blackwood's work, perfectly complement this homespun style ... . Peg Bearskin is a wonderful introduction to Newfoundland's rich oral culture." ÐPhilippa Sheppard, Quill and Quire

"Read the text and you will hear the voice of a local Newfoundland storyteller; take a closer look at the text and you will see true love for the art of bookmaking ... . This unique tangibility of voice and type creates a strong sense of place, while the tale of Peg Bearskin itself makes ample use of universal narrative patterns: There are three daughters, three quests, and three husbands. But Peg is a ferociously ugly and thoroughly unconventional heroine who makes sure that the happy end holds a humourous surprise in store. Cohen's stark black-and-white linocuts reveal the darker side of this traditional tale." ÐNikola von Merveldt, The White Ravens 2004: A Selection of International Children's and Youth Literature