Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "hats"

Paulina and the Pirate's Hat by Eric Ode

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Paulina loves to read, especially if her book takes her on an adventure. She gets so caught up in the story, she forgets to look where she’s going. When this happens one day, she finds herself aboard a ship. But not just any old vessel. The Rusty Cuttlefish belongs to pirates, and the captain is decidedly unhappy because she’s sitting on his hat!

Once the squashed hat is retrieved, Paulina announces that it is most certainly the wrong hat for a pirate captain. The crew agrees and, on her recommendation, they set sail for the best places to find the needed wool, feather, and lace for a true pirate captain’s hat.

Children, old and young, who often have their noses in books will definitely identify with Paulina. The story sounds like a grand adventure, but is basically a sedate quest, although some of the bright, colorful artwork suggests more excitement in faraway places like Puddle Jump Island and the Komoromoro Jungle. Paulina watches rather than fully participates until the very end of this tale where a surprising twist occurs. The pictures contain a few familiar pirate tropes, such as a peg leg and tattered clothing, but while the pirates wear old-fashioned attire, she dresses in t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. The characters come from a variety of ethnicities. The text is fairly easy to read, but young pirates (ages 3-8) can easily tell the story just from looking at the artwork. At the book’s end, Ode includes directions on how to make your own pirate hat from old newspapers, which makes Paulina and the Pirate’s Hat a fun way to integrate reading with art.




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