Stories for Talk Like a Pirate Day

Arrrr, maties,  and shiver me timbers. Today be Talk Like A Pirate Day, so here be two stories of treasure-seeking and friendship on the high seas. (Okay, I'll stop the pirate talk now)

Eye, Eye, Captain by Jane Clarke; illustrated by Jennie Poh

Pirates are fierce, bold and brave. Everybody knows that. So, when Captain Cutlass is told he needs to wear glasses, it doesn't go very well with his image of a courageous captain, and he thinks his crew will make him walk the plank. BUT, without his glasses, the captain is making quite a few mistakes - he can't even read a treasure map!









The pirates in The Friendly Pirates by Saviour Pirotta and illustrated by Erica Salcedo, are living a quieter life; in fact it's a little too quiet on Cutlass Island for Adam, Amy and Ali since their ship sank. So when they get a chance they stowaway on board a passing ship, hoping it will take them to a big city. Saving the ship's crew from a sea monster wins them new friends, but the city turns out to be too noisy for pirates used to a quiet island. How can they get home?

From Bloomsbury Young Readers series, both short books are full of adventure on the high seas, with giant whales, sea monsters, and pirates (of course). Exciting but fun, and colourfully illustrated throughout, both are excellent for five and six year olds moving on to their first chapter books. Inside the front cover you'll find ideas to help your child with their reading (discussing unfamiliar words or talking about how the stories's themes might apply elsewhere), and at the back are suggestions of follow-on activities (writing or drawing).

Publisher - Bloomsbury Education
Genre - children's, pirates, adventure, 5+, 6+

Phoenix Rising by Bryony Pearce

review by Maryom 

 Wanted in almost every port, Toby has rarely set foot on land but lives at sea with his father, captain of the pirate ship The Phoenix. With their fiercely loyal crew they make a precarious living salvaging from the masses of junk to be found floating at sea - for in this dystopian future world, the seas are packed with all sorts of rubbish; lorries, aeroplanes, you name it you'll find it floating somewhere out there! Somewhere out there, they believe there is an island where they could live freely - but to reach it, they first need to salvage enough solar panels to power The Phoenix out into open seas, and their rival The Banshee is also on the trail of them and will stoop to anything to get their hands on them.

Phoenix Rising is a non-stop action-packed adventure full of the 'normal' pirate-y sorts of things - sea-battles, escaping from dungeons, hand to hand combat - but against a bleak, post-apocalypse backdrop. Society as we know it has crumbled, the seas are so full of junk that an ice-breaker is necessary to carve a path through it and the water itself is contaminated from all the leaked acids and oils. The emphasis though is very much on the action, which cracks along at speed, with barely a break for Toby (and the rest of the crew) to catch breath.
It is a male-dominated world but the women in it are as tough and brave as the men (if not more-so) - so should appeal equally to both boys and girls looking for an original action adventure.

Maryom's review -  4 stars
Publisher - Stripes Publishing
Genre -pirate adventure, dystopian, early teens, 12+

The Buccaneering Book Of Pirates by Saviour Pirotta

Illustrated by M P Robertson

Review by The Mole

Some books just sit on a shelf inviting you to pick them up and then you find you can't part with them - you NEED to own them. This is just such a book. The thing that will hit you first is the bright, bold colours of the wonderfully drawn illustrations. You then find a huge pop-up poster tucked inside with pockets and hidden objects that pirates would have owned. And THEN you find the text!

Saviour specialises in writing good clear stories that are
easily readable by children, that actually make them want to read, and he has done it once again here. In retelling these six stories of pirates he brings alive the imagination of young readers in the stories of Blackbeard and Treasure Island as well as lesser known, but equally enthralling, tales of a Corsair Captain and even a Pirate queen. If I had one TINY criticism of this book it would be that the story section could have done with being able to be removed to protect what may well be become a family heirloom.

A beautiful book and with the holiday season coming up why not treat yourself?

Publisher - Frances Lincoln
Genre - Picture Story Book, pop-up, pirates

Buy The Buccaneering Book of Pirates (Pop Up Books) from Amazon