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There is always room for a pirate picture book, especially one like Beth Ferry's Pirate's Perfect Pet, brought to life by the painterly illustrations of Matt Myers. Pirate's Perfect Pet begins with Captain Crave taking a dive off plank of his pirate ship when he spies a bottle with a message in it bobbing near a shark. No problem! Back on board, the Captain unfurls a letter from his Mummy, praising his piratical skills and sharing an article found in Be Your Best Buccaneer magazine. This article just happens to include a checklist to make sure you are living up to your perfect pirate potential as a captain. With the help of his crew, Captain Crave ticks off items on the list, only to discover he is missing a peg leg. And a pet.
Scurrying to set this right, the crew docks in a place that looks quite a bit like Miami Beach. Myers's illustrations are richly detailed and full of laughs. From the beach to the farm to the zoo, Captain Crave just can't find the perfect pet, although he does get his peg leg after a visit with a lion.
His quest ends in a pet store when something poops in his eye. A parrot with an eye patch and a peg leg? Yep! The pirate's perfect pet.I thought the story could have gone in a different direction, but that's just me. Give the people what they want, and who doesn't want a pirate to have a parrot?
Source: Review Copy
0 Comments on Pirate's Perfect Pet by Beth Ferry, illustrated by Matt Myers as of 10/5/2016 4:12:00 AM
Jonny Duddle is the illustrator and author of some gorgeously illustrated picture books, all of which I have read, a couple of which I have reviewed (see below.) Now, Duddle takes his friendly pirate family from picture book The Pirates Next-Door and spins longer yarns with them and former, pirate loving neighbor and resident of the tiny town of Dull-on-Sea, Matilda in his debut chapter book series The Jolley-Rogers. Besides being fun and fascinating pirate packed mysteries, the books in this series are just plain gorgeous and perfectly suited to Duddle's richly detailed illustrations. The trim size is a bit larger than the traditional chapter book with parts of the title printed in metallic ink. And the interior illustrations are remarkably generous with images on almost every page, often flowing across two pages!
In the first book, The Jolley-Rogers and the Ghostly Galleon, the Dull-on-Sea Museum is burgled, causing all the towns folk to rush to hide and/or secure their valuables. Matilda sends a message in a bottle to her pal, Jim Lad, and the Jolley-Rogers turn their ship, the Black Hole, toward town. Once they dock, they get into their amphibious vehicle and get down to solving the mystery of the missing treasure.
In this first book, a crew of ghost pirates led by Cap'n Twirlybird, looking for a long lost key, the story of which is sung as a chantey by Grandpa Rogers. If you have read any of his picture books, you know that Duddle is great with a rhyme. Interestingly enough, Tilly's neighbor, the almost 100 year old Miss Pinky, just happens to have a strange key that her brother found in 1944 on the beaches of Normandy amidst the explosions. Once they have the key, Jim Lad and Tilly have to face the ghostly pirates and save their souls by unlocking a trunk that they don't want unlocked...
In the second book in the series, The Jolley-Rogers and the Cave of Doom, the crew of the Black Hole find themselves under the spell of three sea hags, bewitched by a magical haul of treasures and Matilda is the only person who can help them!
In 2011 we first met Jack, Zack and Caspar, three boys with a creativity that was surpassed only by their imagination. In King Jack and the Dragon, written by Peter Bently and illustrated by the marvelous Helen Oxenbury, the three spend the day building a castle then defending it from dragons and giants until it's time to go home.
In Captain Jack and the Pirates, Jack, Zack and Caspar are on the beach, "brave mariners three," building a "galleon down by the sea." Sand, sticks and somebody's shirt come together and the three set sail. They head out to sea, "hungry for glory and enemy booty," but a tropical gale scuppers their plans.
Abandoning ship, the three agree to explore, but must rescue little Caspar when he is captured by the pirates. They slip into the hideout and find treasure galore! The pirate hideout is actually cabana where mom and dad have been preparing afternoon tea, including three ice cream cones and a happy ending. Bently's rhyming text can almost be sung like a sea chanty and the adventure that he creates for the boys - imagined and read - is wonderful. Oxenbury, a favorite of mine, is a gifted illustrator who is especially skilled at bringing preschool aged children and the natural world to the page. As in King Jack and the Dragon, the illustrations alternate between color and monochrome, Oxenbury's lush watercolor and pencil perfectly balance the real world experiences of the boys and the imaginary world that they create. While it was almost five years between books, I will happily wait for a third adventure with Jack, Zack and Caspar!
King Jack and the Dragon
Source: Review Copy
0 Comments on Captain Jack and the Pirates by Peter Bently & Helen Oxenbury as of 1/1/1900
Compass South is the fantastic first adventure in the Four Points series of graphic novels written by Hope Larson and illustrated by Rebecca Mock. As I finished reading this book, I felt like I had read a complete novel, there are so many details, world building and character diveristy in this book. In fact, I was reminded of S.E. Grove's trilogy that begins with The Glass Sentence, although Larson's book is set firmly - so far - in real, not an alternative, historical landscape. Mock's illustrations, which are filled with warm earth tones, packed with movement and energy. At times, I had to remind myself of which twin was which, but, in all fairness, this is a story with two sets of redheaded twins!
Set in 1860, Compass South begins with a prologue that explains how and why twins Alexander and Cleopatra Dodge made it from Ireland to New York City with two very special items - a compass and a pocket knife. Twelve years later, the only father they have ever known (but not their birth father) has disappeared and the twins have joined the Black Hook gang, stealing to survive. When Alexander gets caught, he and Cleopatra make a deal that sends them to New Orleans with Luther, a higher up in the Black Hook gang, close on their trail. Luther has been recruited by Felix Worley, also known as Lucky Worley, captain of the black ship, El Caleuche, to find the twins and relieve them of their heirlooms.
These threads alone are enough to keep Compass South moving at a fast pace, but Larson weaves in a few more threads that make the story even richer. Before boarding the train to New Orleans, Alexander sees an add offering a reward for the return of redheaded twins to their father, who went West to find his fortune five years earlier. Alex convinces Cleo to cut her hair so they can pose as Samuel and Jeremiah Kimball and make their way to San Francisco to collect the reward and find their father. Of course things don't go as planned, starting with a run in with red headed twin boys that lands Alex and Edwin back in jail and Cleo and Silas without a plan.
While it's a challenge at times to remember which twin is which, especially after Cleo cuts her hair, the hot head Alex is paired with Silas, who has a mysterious ailment that leaves him weak, while thoughtful Cleo ends up with Edwin, who shares Alex's temperament. I will tell you that the twin pairs both end up on ships, but what happens to them, where they end up and what Luther and Worley want with them, well, you'll just have to read to find out!
Source: Purchased
0 Comments on Compass South by Hope Larson, illustrations by Rebecca Mock, 224 pp, RL 4 as of 1/1/1900
Compass South is the fantastic first adventure in the Four Points series of graphic novels written by Hope Larson and illustrated by Rebecca Mock. As I finished reading this book, I felt like I had read a complete novel, there are so many details, world building and character diveristy in this book. In fact, I was reminded of S.E. Grove's trilogy that begins with The Glass Sentence, although Larson's book is set firmly - so far - in real, not an alternative, historical landscape. Mock's illustrations, which are filled with warm earth tones, packed with movement and energy. At times, I had to remind myself of which twin was which, but, in all fairness, this is a story with two sets of redheaded twins!
Set in 1860, Compass South begins with a prologue that explains how and why twins Alexander and Cleopatra Dodge made it from Ireland to New York City with two very special items - a compass and a pocket knife. Twelve years later, the only father they have ever known (but not their birth father) has disappeared and the twins have joined the Black Hook gang, stealing to survive. When Alexander gets caught, he and Cleopatra make a deal that sends them to New Orleans with Luther, a higher up in the Black Hook gang, close on their trail. Luther has been recruited by Felix Worley, also known as Lucky Worley, captain of the black ship, El Caleuche, to find the twins and relieve them of their heirlooms.
These threads alone are enough to keep Compass South moving at a fast pace, but Larson weaves in a few more threads that make the story even richer. Before boarding the train to New Orleans, Alexander sees an add offering a reward for the return of redheaded twins to their father, who went West to find his fortune five years earlier. Alex convinces Cleo to cut her hair so they can pose as Samuel and Jeremiah Kimball and make their way to San Francisco to collect the reward and find their father. Of course things don't go as planned, starting with a run in with red headed twin boys that lands Alex and Edwin back in jail and Cleo and Silas without a plan.
While it's a challenge at times to remember which twin is which, especially after Cleo cuts her hair, the hot head Alex is paired with Silas, who has a mysterious ailment that leaves him weak, while thoughtful Cleo ends up with Edwin, who shares Alex's temperament. I will tell you that the twin pairs both end up on ships, but what happens to them, where they end up and what Luther and Worley want with them, well, you'll just have to read to find out!
Source: Purchased
0 Comments on Compass South by Hope Larson, illustrations by Rebecca Mock, 224 pp, RL 4 as of 1/1/1900
The creative genius of HL Carpenter shines in their latest book. Pirate Summer is the story of a sister and brother who discover the importance of each other and the consequences of lying. Enter the handsome privateer who steals Josey’s heart and commandeers her on the adventure of her life and you now have the perfect summer read for all ages.
Fifteen year old Josey is a liar. She’d like to stop. But after Mom left, the lies started popping out, like the time Josey left her little brother at the library and told Dad he’d run away.
Then Josey meets a boy who tells bigger whoppers than she does. He says he’s the son of a privateer who’s been dead two centuries. He’s so convincing Josey’s brother believes every word and sets off to find the privateer’s hidden treasure.
When her brother disappears, Josey is sure she knows where he's gone. But everyone thinks she's lying again. Everyone, that is, except the so-called privateer’s son. He knows she’s telling the truth because jeweled riches are only part of his tale. There’s also the snooperscope, a device that makes time leaps possible, like the one that brought him to the present.
The story is fantastical...and yet Josey will do anything to save her brother, including traveling back in time two hundred years with a boy she can’t trust. EXCERPT
The basic tale hadn’t changed since the first time I’d heard it, though Gran had added a few embellishments. I wondered who she’d been practicing on, then remembered she was on call as a substitute teacher for the Sea Cove school system. Thanks to her, generations of Sea Cove residents knew the legend of Alastair Morgan, a pirate who’d haunted the Florida coast during the early 1800s. Andy jiggled on the seat. He had a vivid imagination, a by-product of his oversize I.Q., and he was caught up in the midst of the hurricane Gran was describing. The huge storm had blown the Morgan pirate ship off course and into Sea Cove.
“Alastair Morgan was familiar with Sea Cove,” Gran said. “He sought refuge in the harbor. When the skies lightened, the rain slowed. He rowed to shore with his son, some of his crew and seven trunks of gold and jewels. They had buried the treasure and were rowing back to their ship when the storm started again.”
“Didn’t he realize the calm was only the eye of the hurricane?” Andy asked.
“Good question, and no, he didn’t. He was surprised when the winds and rain picked up, only from the opposite direction.”
“Silly of him. He should have known. Being a sailor and all.”
Gran met my gaze over Andy’s head. Her lips twitched.
I grinned, forgetting for a moment how annoyed I was. By the time I remembered, Gran had looked away, out the front windshield.
She gasped. “Brake, Josey!”
I jerked my head around. I’d only been distracted for a second—exactly enough time for the truck to drift to the right side of the road. A skinny teenage boy walked there, his back to us.
“We’re going to hit him!” Andy shouted.
I leaned on the horn, smashed the brake, and yanked the wheel to the left. The tires screeched. The seatbelt dug into my hips. Andy shouted again as an invisible force shoved him back, then forward. Gran shot out her arm to hold him in place.
In front of us, the boy whirled. He yelled and raised his palms toward us as if he could ward off the truck with his bare hands. At the last moment, he flung himself onto the dirty sand beyond the edge of the black pavement.
I lost sight of him as the pickup jolted to a shuddering, shaking stop, sideways across the highway.
Florida-based mother/daughter author duo HL Carpenter write sweet, clean fiction that is suitable for everyone in your family. The Carpenters write from their studios in Carpenter Country, a magical place that, like their stories, is unreal but not untrue. When they’re not writing, they enjoy exploring the Land of What-If and practicing the fine art of Curiosity. Visit their website to enjoy gift reads and excerpts and to find out what’s happening in Carpenter Country.
StoryMakers guest Steve Light returned to KidLit TV HQ to read his latest book, Swap! A young first-time pirate barters his way around the port to help a friend in need.
Swap! is one of several new books Steve Light will have published in 2016. Steve revisits his signature illustration style; black and white drawings — with a pop of color — and tons of detail. Steve continues to encourage young readers to explore and collaborate with the aid of friendly and helpful characters.
KidLit TV’s Read Out Loud series is perfect for parents, teachers, and librarians. Use these readings for nap time, story time, bedtime … anytime!
Swap!
Written and illustrated by Steve Light
Published by Candlewick Press
An old ship. A sad friend. A button … An idea. Let’s SWAP! In a young scalawag’s first tale of bartering, a peg-legged youngster sets out to help his captain repair his vessel. One button for three teacups. SWAP two teacups for four coils of rope. SWAP and so it goes, until the little swashbuckler secures sails, anchors, a ship’s wheel, and more … including a happy friend. Steve Light’s intricate pen-and-ink illustrations, punctuated by brilliant blue and other hues, anchor this clever tale of friendship and ingenuity.
ABOUT STEVE LIGHT
Steve Light is the author and illustrator of several books for children. When he isn’t writing, he’s teaching pre-k students in New York City. Steve is a collector of fountain pens; he has more than 80. When Steve isn’t writing and illustrating he can be found creating models — some of which are inspired by his books –, or carving storyboxes; wood dolls and props that fit in a box, which can be used to tell stories. Steve lives in New York City with his wife.
Swap! is the fifth picture book I have reviewed by Steve Light and I think it just might be my favorite of them! Swap! is simple and elegant in its story and execution and Light's trademark use of thick lined black and white drawings with well chosen chunks of color are at their best here. I was a bit nervous about reading Swap! out loud to groups of students because the story relies so much on the richly detailed illustrations, but it turned out to be completely engaging for my students and a great way to talk about the history of bartering and synonyms for the word swap.
A youngster (I honestly could not tell if it was a boy or a girl and discussed this with my students, who always were of mixed opinion, telling them that I loved the ambiguity) with a peg leg wants to help a sad friend, a seafaring fellow with a run down old vessel and a mischievous monkey that readers should be sure to keep their eyes on. Swap! begins, "An old ship. A sad friend. A button . . . An idea. Let's swap!" The boy trades his friend's button for two tea cups. Two teacups become three coils of rope. Two coils of rope - the ship needs a new coil of rope and the intricacies of the trades make this counting book a challenge for readers - are traded for six oars.
Oars become flags, then flags become anchors. Sails, hats, ship's wheels, hats, birds and carved figureheads but a smile on the boy's and the sailor's faces. The industry exhibited in Light's illustrations as the friends make their way through the village trading with various craftsmen and craftswomen is marvelous. And Light's sparse but well chosen text leaves much room for imagination and storytelling by little listeners and readers, not to mention the opportunity to discuss bartering and economics. Swap! is a brilliant picture book with a timeless feel that is a joy to read over and over!
Mabel Jones and the Forbidden City is the second book in Will Mabbitt and by Ross Collins's superb new series and, if possible, it's even better than the first, The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones. In the first book, Mabbitt introduced our hero who is conscripted into the life of a pirate because she was caught doing THE DEED (picking her nose and eating it) and allowed to stay (despite being a girl) because she can read. The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones is a panoramic sweeping story packed with richly detailed and very imaginative characters and places. With Mabel Jones and the Forbidden City, the story becomes more personal and urgent for Mabel.
When we see Mabel again, she is in her room, scratching her armpit and staring at a "funny-looking thing, all fat and helpless. Like a beetle grub. Kind of slimy, but kind of cute, too." It's Mabel's baby sister Maggie, and mere minutes after this sweet scene of sibling love, Maggie is taken out of her room by a nasty tasting, powerful creeping vine. Mabel grabs on to the last bit of the disappearing vine and finds herself in a wardrobe in another time and place - the Noo World, specifically, the City of Dreams, a sort of post-apocalyptic, dangerous civilization built upon the remains of New York City.
Mabel in in America - and once again having an adventure in her pajamas, and this time bunny slippers as well. Once she gets her bearings, she heads off to the dwelling of Mr. Habib, a beak-collecting fortune teller who might be able to tell her where to find Maggie. Mable almost gets her nose snipped off to add to the collection, but she does get a lead and soon she in afloat again. This time, she has secured a position on a little paddle steamer, the Brown Trout, upon which she will be cruising down the Great Murky River to the Forbidden City, rumored to be under the thrall of a wicked sorceress. This expedition is being headed (and funded) by Professor Carruthers Badger-Badger, Phd and Timothy Speke, an otter who enjoys sketching and loves his damson jam. They are journeying to the Forbidden City to find a diamond the size of a gorilla's fist, seen in a faded advertisement from a magazine.
Mabel Jones and the Forbidden City finds the return of old friends, some of whom are now enemies, a flock of zombified egrets under the sway of the Witch Queen, a sunken high school full of skeleton students and the Scuttling Death, rival adventurer Sir Gideon Scapegrace and an epic climactic scene that will have you on the very edge of your seat as Mable prepares to make a huge sacrifice.
Not to fear, there will be another book in the Mabel Jones series! Without giving too much away, Mabel Jones and the Forbidden City ends with her staring out over the vast wasteland that was once New York City, picking her nose and wondering what happened to all the "hoomans."
I have had The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones by Will Mabbitt with illustrations by Ross Collins on my To Be Read shelf for a year now. The impending publication of the second book in this series, Mabel Jones and the Forbidden City, combined with the possible chance to have author Will Mabbitt visit here lit a fire under me and got me reading. Once I started, I couldn't stop! The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones is every bit as absurd and adventurous as the title, illustrations, blurbs and reviews promise. As one reviewer touted, Mabbitt's book is a bit like Monty Python meets Jack Sparrow. While this is definitely accurate, for me Mabel Jones and her crew call to mind the brilliant, equally creative but darker work of two of my favorites, Chris Riddell and Paul Stewart and their series, The Edge Chronicles. Mabbitt's story and Collins's illustrations are perfectly paired and the design of the book is fantastic. There is a great mix of fonts and font sizes and one fantastic spread where, in the midst of a massive storm at sea, the text slips and slides off the page! Mabel Jones's richly illustrated, patently hilarious adventures are an absolute MUST READ for everyone. When an omniscient (and very talkative) third person narrator first introduces us to Mabel Jones, she is about to be bagged by the kidnapper Omynus Hussh. Hussh, a slow loris who was kidnapped by Captain Idryss Ebenezer Split at birth, is a "dastardly breed: quiet as a peanut and sneaky as a woodlouse in a jar of raisins." Even if you have no idea what a woodlouse in a jar full of raisins is, it SOUNDS funny! And the names of the all animal crew! Mabbitt is a master of names. Besides Hussh and Split, there is Split's boat, the Feroshus Maggot, a pipe smoking goat pirate named Pelf, a mole who is the "best shortsighted lookout ever to have mistaken a pirate ship for an optician's shop," McMasters, and Mr. Clunes, an orangutan who is the strong and silent type. Finally, there is Old Sawbones, a crocodile who has a certificate in Advanced Nautical Surgery from the Butcher's Guild. And how does Omynus Hussh know that Mabel is good for bagging? She was observed doing THE DEED - the deed that shows she is a pirate in the making. And what is this deed? Well, Mabel was observed picking her nose and eating her booger. And thus she was bagged. But not without some distress. Mabel got a good chomp on Hussh's paw, causing it to go septic, necessitating an amputation by Old Sawbones. Being fresh out of hooks, Sawbones attaches a doorknob to Hussh's stump in what has to be one of the funniest and saddest moments ever in a kid's book. And boy was Hussh sad - so sad he kept is paw with him, cradling it and talking to it like a friend (and a bit like Gollum with his Precious) while also harboring an increasing grudge against Mabel.
Of course the crew is outraged by the presence of a girl on board and they promptly prepare for her to walk the "greasy pole of certain death." But, this wouldn't be a story without Mabel and she manages to become part of the crew once they learn that she can read! Mabel becomes the key to helping the crew find a buried treasure by reuniting the pieces of the X that marks the spot which just happen to be in the hands of a handful of pirates who were once marooned with Captain Split's father.
The mystery of the missing X is actually pretty mysterious with an edge of creepy, reminding me of Stewart and Riddell's books all the more. There is a Haunted Sea, a sunken city and an army of the dead to contend with before the very dramatic and a tiny bit sad ending that also includes time travel. Happily, I get to dive right in to the next book in the series . . .
Source: Review Copy
0 Comments on The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones by Will Mabbitt, illustrated by Ross Collins, 290pp, RL 4 as of 2/11/2016 4:12:00 AM
Ahoy! Captain No Beard and his crew are back. In the latest installment to Carole P. Roman’s award-wining series, Being a Captain is Hard Work, readers learn it’s okay to make mistakes, especially when you learn something from them.
January 21st is officially Squirrel Appreciation Day. To mark this solemn occasion, Kid Lit Reviews is pleased to bring you a feisty little squirrel destined to become a pirate. I just could not pass up telling you about Sammy on his special day. Actually, Sammy’s special day will be April 1 (no fooling), when his …
About the Book: Nikki Landry is turning eleven years old, and is looking forward to riding her bike to school. That is until it falls apart. Papa can’t afford a new one. Is she doomed to ride the smelly old school bus from now on?
Hearing of an old pirate ship, and a legend about long-ago pirates burying treasure on a nearby swamp island, Nikki sees a way out. But when she makes a birthday wish for the pirate’s gold, things go terribly wrong. Did her wish trigger an ancient curse?
Join Nikki and her friends as they find themselves sailing away aboard a haunted schooner with ghostly pirates into the Gulf of Mexico … and into the year eighteen fourteen.
How will they ever find their way back home?
Pierre Part Louisiana
by Rita Monette
I have been spending the last few weeks in my home state of Louisiana, promoting my books and visiting relatives.
Today I visited my brother in the small town of Pierre Part, Louisiana, which also happens to be the home of Troy Landry of the Swamp People TV series, and where my series, The Nikki Landry Swamp Legends, begins. No, Nikki is not kin to Troy—at least I don’t think so.
The town is about as Cajun as anywhere in Louisiana. Folks there make their living in the bayous, where crawfish, crabs, and alligators are plentiful.
However, I came across one man that makes his living gathering old cypress and turning it into artistic creations. His name is Adam Morales. He says he is blessed to be able to see things in the old remains of cypress trees. Here are a couple of his creations...
Many folks in Pierre Part still live in houseboats, just like they did back in 1956 where my stories begin.
This week is the release of book two, The Curse at Pirate’s Cove, which is set in the nearby town of Morgan City, and in the Atchafalaya Swamp, where Mr. Morales collects the cypress for his artwork.
Rita Monette was born and raised in Southwest Louisiana. She loves to write stories set in the beautiful, yet mysterious, bayous and swamps of her home state.
Her middle grade series, The Nikki Landry Swamp Legends, is based on tales told by her father—who made his living in those bayous—of reasons to stay out of the swamp.
She currently lives with her husband, four lap dogs, and one lap cat, in the mountains of Tennessee. Besides writing and illustrating, she loves watching the many birds that make their habitat on the Cumberland Plateau, working in the garden, and frequenting waterfalls.
The Curse at Pirate’s Cove, the second installment in the Nikki Landry Swamp Legend series, is due to be released next month, on November 17.
It was previously scheduled for October 17, but was postponed due to unforeseen problems.
But Nikki and her friends know exactly what the problem was…it was those pesky pirates…and the curse. Yes, they’ve been at it again.
Here’s a description of the book and what’s going on with Nikki in book two:
“When one man’s treasure is another one’s curse.”
Nikki Landry is turning eleven years old, and is looking forward to riding her bike to school. That is until it falls apart. Papa can’t afford a new one. Is she doomed to ride the smelly old school bus from now on?
Hearing of an old pirate ship, and a legend about long-ago pirates burying treasure on a nearby swamp island, Nikki sees a way out. But when she makes a birthday wish for the pirate’s gold, things go terribly wrong. Did her wish trigger an ancient curse?
Join Nikki and her friends as they find themselves sailing away aboard a haunted schooner with ghostly pirates into the Gulf of Mexico … and into the year eighteen fourteen.
How will they ever find their way back home?
Here’s an excerpt from the book:
“How do you know it’s a pirate ship?”
“It has to be, Nikki. Listen.” He turned toward me. “I was out at Uncle Luke’s this past weekend, and he told me all about it.”
“I ain’t believing there’s no pirate ship out in those swamps.” I lifted my chin.
“Just hear me out, Tomboy.” He sounded impatient. “There’s a legend that goes along with it, see.” He leaned toward me and lowered his voice. “There might even be a curse.”
“A legend?” He had my attention. I prided myself in being a super legend buster ever since I solved the one about Ghost Dog Island last year. I even got my picture in the newspaper. “Well, tell me about it.”
“I’m trying to.” He waved his hands in the air.
We propped ourselves against a couple of large limbs and got out our lunch bags.
“Uncle Luke says he first heard about it back when he was a kid. He says a friend of his grandfather, by the name of Beco, was out trapping on Fog Island with his buddy Clamare. They came across this here hole in the ground with a half-buried wooden chest, see. It had a big old lock on it. There was a couple of coins in the dirt, so Clamare picked them up and slipped them in his pocket. Beco decided he’d go back for some tools and shovels to dig the rest of it out, and told Clamare to stay there and watch the chest. On his way out to the edge of the island, he saw this ragged old ship. Thinking it was kind of odd looking for being in the swamps and all, he got a little closer. It had a broken mast and raggedy sails.” He poked me with his elbow. “When was the last time you ever saw a fishing boat with sails?”
I shook my head. “Never.” I unwrapped a peanut butter and jam sandwich and took a bite. “What’d he do?”
“Well, he started to board it, see?” Spikes dug into his own lunch bag. “But then he heard some talking coming out of the boat. He stopped right then and there, ’cause he didn’t know who might be on that old wreck out in the middle of nowhere, and there weren’t no other boats around. This one had a big old hole in the hull, so it couldn’t have sailed there on its own. At least anytime in recent history.”
“Then what?” I licked some of the jam off my fingers.
“Then someone stuck his head up over the bow, see. He had on one of them three pointed hats that pirates always wore. Old Beco yelled a big hello, and the man took out a pistol and shot over his head. Well, Beco took off right then and there. That night, he went down to T-Noon’s bar and got drunk, and told some other fellows about it. The next day, they all went back out to the island with shovels and brought guns just in case that crazy guy in the boat was still there.”
“Was he?” I asked.
“Nope. The ship was gone, and so was Clamare.”
“What about the treasure?”
“They never could find it. Not even the hole it was in.”
About the author:
Rita Monette was born and raised in Southwest Louisiana. She loves to write stories set in the beautiful, yet mysterious, bayous and swamps of her home state.
Her middle grade series, The Nikki Landry Swamp Legends, is based on tales told by her father, who made his living in those bayous.
She currently lives with her husband, four lap dogs, and one lap cat, in the mountains of Tennessee. Besides writing and illustrating, she loves watching the many birds that inhabit the Cumberland Plateau.
0 Comments on Set Sail with MG author Rita Monette’s newest Nikki Landry release… as of 10/26/2015 3:41:00 AM
Pirates and Buried Treasure: Secrets, Strange Tales, and Hidden Facts about Pirates (Top Secret Files of History) Series: Top Secret Files Written by Stephanie Bearce Prufrock Press 8/01/2015 978-1-61821-421-8 128 pages Age 9—12 “Pirates of the Golden Age had to deal with scurvy, fight ferocious battles, and …
Enter to win a complete autographed set of the Captain No Beard series, by award-winning author Carole P. Roman; plus the PLAYMOBIL Red Serpent Pirate Ship.
Giveaway begins September 1, 2015, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends September 30, 2015, at 11:59 P.M. PST.
I bet your dad is not like other dads. It might be nice to remember this on Father’s Day – yes it’s just around the corner, but with fab picture books like these celebrating the quirks and qualities of fatherhood available now, why wait. My Amazing Dad by the very amazing Ezekiel Kwaymullina and Tom […]
Will Mabbitt writes. He writes in cafes, on trains, on the toilet, and sometimes in his head when his laptop runs out of power. The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones is his first book. Another one is coming soon.
Any author will tell you that one of the questions we get asked the most is What are your favorite books? When it comes to historical fiction, coming up with a short list is pretty much impossible.
I cannot recall so many 6-star reviews in such a short period of time (5 of 7 current titles). I didn’t hand-pick them, it was simply their turn. I hope you have a chance to read each of these books, and any other that might make the list this year. Today, another winner arrives today. Debut author Allabach and award-winning cartoonist Turnbloom blend the picture book with the graphic novel for a unique experience. x x x x x Dragon and Captain
Written by P. R. Allabach Illustrated by Lucas Turnbloom Flashlight Press 4/01/2015 978-1-9362613-3-8 32 pages Age 5—7 x x “What is Captain doing in Dragon’s sandbox? He’s moping over his lost ship. Dragon is a boy in a robe and pajamas. Captain is a boy with a three-sided hat. But when they set off on a backyard adventure to find the lost ship, they become . . . DRAGON AND CAPTAIN, FEARLESS EXPLORERS! Together they trek through a dark forest, climb down a cliff, and hike all the way to the sea to outsmart a band of evil pirates! Can dragon and Captain rescue the missing ship . . . before lunch?” [book jacket]
Review Imagine a picture book partially written as a graphic novel. That image is Dragon and Captain, the story of two little boys who wake up one morning to confront a mystery—where is the Captain’s ship. Did the sea grab hold, dragging it far away, or did something more nefarious occur?
While enjoying his breakfast, a blue-hued Dragon spies a red-haired pirate trespassing in his sandbox. Rushing out, Dragon confronts the intruder,
“Hey, pirate. What are you doing in my sandbox?” “I’m not a pirate, good sir. I’m the captain of a ship.” “You look like a pirate.”
Thus begins the wonderfully witty and whimsical, fantasy-filled, backyard adventure. Turnbloom’s graphite, ink, and digitally painted illustrations alternate between the boys’ imagination—told as a comic strip—and their reality—seen in traditional picture book spreads. The process enhances the story with vivid action, and gives the reader direct access to the young boy’s right-brained imagination and creativity.
Captain and Dragon’s world is void of technology. A crayon drawing, a paper-towel tube, and a toy watch respectively become a map, a telescope, and a compass. What would your imagination do with green bushes, a water sprinkler, and a stone walkway? How would your creativity re-claim the Captain’s ship using only toy sandbox shovels, paper, and a bicycle? Why must the duo sneak past the one-eyed teddy bear? Captain, and his new friend Dragon, trek through a dangerously dark forest and scale a cliff to reach the sea, never leaving the backyard and finding all the above items valuable to their journey.
I love that Dragon and Captain could ignite a child’s innate imagination, sans technology. I love that after reading Dragon and Captain, kids might see their surroundings as an adventure; everyday objects as imaginatively malleable; and reading as exciting and essential. Parents will enjoy reading Dragon and Captain to their children, especially after hearing their cries of,
“I’m bored. There’s nothing to do around here.”
Yes, there is something to do and Dragon and Captain will show the way. Kids will love the brightly colored illustrations by award-winning cartoonist Turnbloom, and the backyard fantasy-adventure, smartly written by debut author Allabach. Dragon and Captain is a terrific book for any “Books for Boys” list, yet girls will love it, too. Aye, matey, this girl adores both the Dragon and the Captain.
Title: Rufus Goes to Sea Written by: Kim T. Griswell Illustrated by: Valeri Gorbachev Published by: Sterling Children’s books, April, 2015 Themes/Topics: pirates, pigs, adventure, reading & writing, stereotypes Suitable for ages: 4-8 Sequel to Rufus Goes to School Opening: Rufus Leroy William III … Continue reading →
The loveable crew of the Flying Dragon is back! In A Flag for the Flying Dragon: A Captain No Beard Story, Captain No Beard and his friends work together to resolve conflicts as they look for the perfect job for their youngest crewmember, Zachary.
Fribbet the Frog and the Tadpoles: A Captain No Beard Story should be readily welcomed into the personal libraries of all expectant families with soon-to-be or new siblings.
His quest ends in a pet store when something poops in his eye. A parrot with an eye patch and a peg leg? Yep! The pirate's perfect pet.I thought the story could have gone in a different direction, but that's just me. Give the people what they want, and who doesn't want a pirate to have a parrot?
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