Pirate Mom

by Deborah Underwood, Stephen Gilpin (Illustrator)

Join Pete, whose mom has been hypnotized to believe she's actually a pirate, on his adventure to get his mom to remember who she really is!

Yo ho ho! Pete loves pirates, but his mom thinks they are rude and messy. Then Pete and his mom go to see the Amazing Marco, and Marco hypnotizes Pete’s mom into thinking she’s a pirate! Now Pete’s mom won’t behave. She chases the neighbors. She steals underwear off other people’s clotheslines. She’s even flying the Jolly Roger over the house. Pete has to find the Amazing Marco. He wants his real mom back!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Pirates

48 pages, Paperback

First published May 23, 2006

Reviews

[Aldo Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and weird.

[La Coccinelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This goofy little story is actually pretty funny. Pete is a kid who loves pirates, but his mom doesn't love them so much, so she never wants to play pirates with him. Instead, she takes him to see a magician, the Amazing Marco. During audience participation, the Amazing Marco hypnotizes Pete's mom into thinking she's a pirate. But then he gets called away for the impending birth of his child, leaving Pete to have to drag his pirate mom home. The hypnotism is supposed to wear off, but it doesn't, and Pete has to deal with a bellicose pirate who's always trying to steal people's loot. What's a boy to do?

I'm not surprised I enjoyed this one as much as I did, since I've liked some of Deborah Underwood's other books. The illustrations work well with the text, too, providing the perfect illustration of the silly pirate mom and her shenanigans.

The book ends with a bit of a twist that's somewhat predictable, but that kids will probably like. Overall, it's a strong book for early readers that'll have pirate lovers cracking a smile or two.

Quotable moment:

Pirate Mom stood in the yard.
She wore an eye patch
and a pirate head scarf.
Pete's parrot sat on her shoulder.
Pirate Mom swished
a wooden spoon at the mailman.
"Arrr!" said Pirate Mom.
"Arrr!" said the parrot.
"Arrrrrrgh!" said Pete.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Review: This was such a fun and silly book to read with Munchkin. We both had some laughs watching the mom act like a pirate. Munchkin loved that she used a wooden spoon for a sword. It is a good level 3 book for those readers who have gained a lot of confidence and who have a little bit longer of an attention span. The illustrations in this one also added to the quirky and funny story, it will definitely keep young readers interest.

[Cal]

Pete has a mom and she doesn't like pirates as she says they're mean. She takes Pete to a magic show. The magician turns Pete's mom into a pirate and Pete wants his mom to be back to mom. He doesn't want his mom to be a pirate and his mom does a lot of things which Pete tries to fix. he finds The Amazing Marco who turned her into a pirate and he un-does the spell. Pete decides he doesn't want his mom to be a pirate.

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss 7 thought Pirate Mom (mum) was funny. Marco really loves playing pirates but it's problematic when his mum gets hypnotised into being a pirate and takes method acting to extremes!

Miss 7 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that this was a really cute book to read. This is a book for first or early second graders to read. I thought that there were funny parts in this book. I also tried to convince my kids that I should be a pirate too, but they wouldn't go for it. This is also an AR book for anyone who might want to know. I would recommend this book to others.

[Melissa Namba · Rating 5 out of 5]

A super fun book about a mom who is hypnotized into thinking she is a a pirate. Its always fun when kids have to be the adult in a situation and this book was able to do that with finesse. No serious consequences were necessary, but it was fun.

[Anthony Dedrick Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and funny

My daughter really enjoyed it as a bedtime story. She enjoyed the humor. I liked that it was broken into chapters.

[Peter Barker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great read for kids.

[Good · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many complicated subjects for a 1-3 grade kid to understand (hypnosis, PTA, maternity ward) and vocab too advanced. Just because it has few words does not make it an easy reader.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute idea, but not executed very well IMO.

[Mellanie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very cute.

[Emma (littledollreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A blast from the past. I remembered this book. It was super fun. Things never go quite as expected when your mom gets turned into a pirate.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son loves this book. I have read it to him atleast 7 times and now he is reading it to me. I was not going to include this book. But since I have read it 7 times, I decided to include it.

[Erin Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Love My Mother

[Miss Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

An upper level easy reader about a boy who loves pirates but his mom never wants to play at being one so when a magician offers to make her one the boy readily accepts. Is a pirate mom better than a regular mom? Cute.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having never heard of author or illustrator I had no high expectations of this easy reader beginning chapter book. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to find a fun, imaginative story with a message for both the child and the parent. The art is also humorous and of the cartoon show quality. When Pete wishes his mom would play pirates with him he gets way more than he expected after she is hypnotized into believing she is one. Pete comes out realizing he'd better be careful what he wishes for and thankful for the mum he does have, not the one he wishes for. Parents themselves can take note to remember that of course you must play with your children but remember to be their parent, not their friend. If the messages don't hit you, it's still a funny story seeing mom getting into pirate escapades that she is going to have a lot of explaining to do for tomorrow!

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was read and tossed aside by my 7 year old a few months ago. I actually agree with it's "Step 3" level assignment. There are a few chapters but no Table of Contents. There are plenty of colorful, fun illustrations and the paragraphs are kept at about a 2 sentence length and one per page so beginner readers won't get lost or overwhelmed. My son thought it was okay and wanted to read it again. I recommend this book for the average 2nd grade reader.

[Tam · Rating 2 out of 5]

My boys (ages 4 & 8) might have liked this book more if they were into pirates. As a parent, I thought it was interesting that the people who came to the PTA meeting were all dad's and the nurse at the hospital was also a man.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very amusing tale involving a hypnotist, a boy, and his poor, unsuspecting mom. When mom thinks she's a pirate, all sorts of crazy things can happen, and it's up to her son to make things right - before it's too late!

Great read aloud to ages 4-6, and a good learn-to-read title.

[Samantha Penrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARRRGGH! This was a super cute book!
The description given in the book details above pretty much says it all.....

[Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kids liked this book

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two thumbs up for The Fabulous Harold! We love this book.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids thought this book was so funny. It has simple sentence structure without sounding too stilted.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uh-oh! Pete's mom has turned into a pirate! What will we do?

[Terrah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another clever book great for Cora practicing her reading and fun for the rest of the family too.

[Julia Jasztal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scherkenbach Elementary 1st Grade **Book-in-a-Bag
#39

[Cheryl Neer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arrgh, this decodable book with a humorous and engaging plot is just right for beginning readers!

[Shannon Bradbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really fun and cute read about a mom who becomes a pirate. She gets into all sorts of mishaps because she doesn’t even know what she’s doing.

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is funny. My 6 year old little girl liked a lot.