PreSchool-Grade 3-Another flight of piratical fancy with young
Jeremy Jacob and the motley crew from How I Became a
Pirate (Harcourt, 2003). Jeremy Jacob, supposed-to-be
babysitter, is distracted from keeping an eye on his snoozing
sister by the boisterous, baby-wakening arrival of Captain Braid
Beard and his men, who have come in search of the treasure formerly
entrusted to our suburban buccaneer. They need his help to find
their loot, and he needs their help to mind Bonney Anne.
Unfortunately, pirates are unfamiliar with nappies, and num-nums,
and naptimes, so there are a lot of funny faux pas and hysterical,
histrionic looks-particularly when it''s discovered that the
baby''s made a snack of the all-important X-marks-the-spot map.
All''s well that ends well, though: the brigands'' booty is
recovered, and their reward to Jeremy Jacob will become the
birthday gift he wraps up for his mom. Long''s dialogue makes for a
rollicking read-aloud, and Shannon''s signature artwork is a
vibrant concoction of rowdy colors; Magoo-eyed, snaggle-toothed
characters; and a baby who bears an unsettling resemblance to
Alfred E. Newman. Yo-ho-ho!-Kathy Krasniewicz, Perrot Library,
Old Greenwich, CT