Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "picture-book"

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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The Sinking of the Vasa: A Shipwreck of Titanic Proportions by Russell Freedman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


King Gustav II wanted to dazzle and terrify the world, to show all the other countries how wealthy and skillful Sweden was. How better to show this than to build the most powerful warship ever known? For two years, shipwrights and other craftsmen worked to make his dream a reality, and when she was launched on Sunday, 10 August 1628, Vasa was indeed the crown jewel of the Swedish navy. Her masts rose high into the air, as high as a building fourteen stories tall. If she was placed at the end of one city street, she would reach nearly to the end of the block. She carried ten huge sails and rows of 64 bronze cannons lined each side of three different decks. She was not only a magnificent war machine, she was also a work of art. Painted and gilded sculptures and carvings – too many to count – decorated her hull.

The sailors and their families gathered on the decks for Vasa’s maiden voyage. People waved goodbye from the shore and some boarded smaller boats to follow the mighty warship. But then disaster struck. The sails caught the wind, Vasa heeled over on one side, and water poured through her open gunports. Many men, women, and children died as the ship sank below the waves. Those who survived and those ashore, including the king, began to ask questions. How could this happen? Why did she sink? Who was to blame?

Within the pages of this book the story of the Vasa and her fate unfold. The artwork is skillfully rendered and colorful, telling the story without graphically depicting the horror of this tragedy. The size of the illustrations gives readers a sense of just how big this warship was and they cover all the facets of her building, the launch, and her recovery. There is even a four-page spread showing how divers lifted Vasa from the seafloor three centuries after she sank. The narrative tells the same story, but in greater detail and in a compelling way that shows that other vessels slipped beneath the waves long before Titanic. At no time does the author talk down to his audience and the large font size makes the text easy to read. For those who might want to explore Vasa further, he provides a list of sources, including the website for the museum where visitors can view photographs of her, listen to an audioguide, and learn about exhibitions, artifacts, and preservation efforts.

The Sinking of the Vasa is not your typical picture book. It’s geared toward older children and includes far more text than normally appears in such volumes. Young readers interested in stories of the sea and sailing ships will be fascinated, and teachers will find this a useful enhancement to history lessons and for eliciting discussion in the classroom.




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Pirate Nell's Tale to Tell by Helen Docherty

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It’s Nell’s big day. Her wish has finally been granted. She’s a pirate!

She brings along her Pirate’s Almanac, a book she’s studied forward and backward until she knows everything about being a pirate. She tries to share the book with Captain Gnash, but he frowns on reading. Nor is her grand adventure quite what she envisioned. Her days are spent scrubbing pots and swabbing the deck. Yet the crew enjoys the many tales she spins at night just before they go to sleep.

One night while on deck, Nell retrieves a bottle floating in the water. Inside is a treasure map, which Captain Gnash confiscates. Even though he hasn’t a clue as to where the buried treasure is, he sets off to find it, encountering troubles and perils along the way.

This captivating book demonstrates that gold and silver don’t always make the best treasure and, sometimes, even the newest pirate makes important contributions both to the ship and the quest. Complimenting the story is the vibrant color artwork that provides young pirates with treasures galore to find, such as Captain Gnash’s boneleg (a pegleg made out of a bone) or the lurking sea serpent. One of my favorite illustrations depicts the ship and crew tossed about during a storm. Another is what Nell and her mates do with the treasure. This rhyming tale will delight young and old alike, and is sure to be a young pirate’s favorite tale of adventure aboard a pirate ship.




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Don't Disturb The Pirate by Rhiannon Findlay

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Patch the puppy has run away. We must find him. Before we start, you should beware. If you hear “Yo Ho Ho,” cannons firing, and shouts of “Ahoy,” RUN! We do not want to disturb the pirate captain and his crew.

This rhyming adventure, geared for young pirates ages three to six, is a delightful exploration of an island shaped like a skull. All the places have appropriate names, such as Crossbones Cavern, Treasure Bay, and Swashbuckle Shore. There are clues to entice along the way, like a map in a bottle and paw prints in the sand. Can’t forget the helpful mermaid either. Neatly woven into the tale are plays on pirate myths, such as walking the plank.

The bright, colorful illustrations captivate us and hold lots of surprises to behold, like cannonballs that turn out to be something else entirely. The little boy who searches for his pup has an expressive face.

Together, the rhyme and the pictures make this a wonderful tale to read aloud to children. Of course, coming across the pirates is inevitable, but what transpires then is a total surprise. This uplifting story allows families to spend a fun time together. It’s sure to become a favorite pirate tale for young and old pirates alike.


This review originally appeared at Pirates and Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/Findlay.html



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