Pirates and Princesses

by Jill Kargman, Christine Davenier (Illustrator)

Ivy and Fletch have been best friends since babyhood. But when they get to kindergarten, they discover that the girls play with the girls, and the boys with the boys; suddenly Ivy and Fletch find themselves apart on the playground, on the Princess Team and the Pirate Team. It isn't until Fletch steps in to rescue Princess Ivy from pirate capture that they realize they miss playing together. Can they desegregate their playground?

This lighthearted story of cooperation and open-mindedness will resonate with kids, parents, and teachers everywhere.

Genres: Picture Books, Princesses, Pirates, Friendship, Childrens, School

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2011

About the author

Jill Kargman is deathly afraid of clowns. And mimes. Wait, mimes are worse. She lives in New York City where she writes magazine articles and trashy novels and enjoys wrap sandwiches. She is the author of teen books Bittersweet Sixteen, Summer Intern, and Jet Set, plus some excellent grown-up books. And by grown-up books she doesn't mean porn; she means not young adult but plain old adult. Her articles have appeared in Vogue, Teen Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Town & Country, Travel + Leisure, Elle, Elle Décor, and a bunch of British magazines you've never seen. She went to Yale where she did not study writing and has three children who keep her young. And exhausted.

Reviews

[Maria]

I was leery of this one when I picked it up. I mean, it certainly looks very gender stereotypical from the cover.

It was a cute story about the two kids (a boy and a girl) who have been friends since they were born. Kindergarten pals try to make them separate into pirate and princess play.

Good message in the end - but a small quibble is this: why did they have to be all blue and pink the whole way through?

[Emily Woodard]

I liked it really good. I liked the game Twisty Cakes in the book. It looks pretty fun. I wonder if they will have a playhouse at my school, too?

[Tiffany]

Addresses: mixed gender friendship, empathy, and consent.

[Owesha Henry]

Just based on the title I did not think I was going to like this book very much, but I actually really enjoyed it and it's message. Pirates and Princesses is a fiction book about Ivy and Fletch. They have been friends their whole lives, in fact their mother's were pregnant at the same time and they were born a day apart. They went through all the stages together from learning to sit up to running. They did everything together. It wasn't until kindergarten that they had to choose to play with the boys or the girls. They enjoyed being "Pirate" and "Princess" but they valued their friendship more and they preferred playing together. They taught the kids other games that they could play like leaping lizards and twisty cakes. These games were not exclusive to one gender or the other and anyone could play on any team.. they were inclusive and the only thing that mattered was that everyone was having fun. This book is interesting for elementary age kids and is very relatable . I love that the characters are believable and the illustrations do a good job of corresponding with the text and depicting the characters and settings accurately. We can learn a lot about friendships and being open minded from reading this book. This story shows us that kids are kids and that boys and girls should play together. It also shows that kids should be able to choose what "team" they want to play on or what games they want to play. The only thing that I did not like about this books was that the characters did not represent a variety of cultural groups.

[Mrs Heet -Librarian]

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this one according to the image on the cover, but it turned out to be a great story about friendship. Ivy and Fletch have been friends for their whole lives, and things take a turn once they get to kindergarten and discover other friends.

[Laurel Roeder]

Liked the overall message, but didn't like stereotypes

[A.J. Pine]

It's inevitable with television and retail marketing that kids are going to associate certain play items with being a boy and others with being a girl. Ever notice sections of Toys R Us that are entirely pink? While it's impossible to avoid such displays, I try to be as gender neutral as possible when it comes to the toys my children (a girl and a boy) play with, the clothes they wear, the colors they like, etc.

That's basically the gist of Pirates and Princesses. Ivy and Fletch have known each other since birth. Their moms are best friends, and soon they are too. All is well until they get to kindergarten and first experience...recess!

The girls want Ivy to play princesses, and the boys want Fletch to play Pirates. I won't say much more other than the book is sweet, hysterically funny in it's narration, and has a great message about being who you want to be regardless of gender stereotypes.

And so, when I was done reading the story to my daughter, I tucked her in tight, all snuggled in her football pjs that she picked out when she was four (and she's six now and still wears them). And I smiled to myself as I thought of my almost three-year-old asleep on his Disney princess pillow case. Love whatever you want.

[Jessica Trufley]

This book makes it okay for boys and girls to be friends and play the same games, without being "boyfriend and girlfriend". It would be great to use if there is gender bullying on the playground because it encourages games that aren't gender based, like princess castle or pirate ship. "Cooties" definitely are not a problem in this book, and that is why I like it. You could read this book just with words OR pictures only! It is not a book I will exactly remember, but it does have a good message, like most children's books do.

[Jenny]

My kids really liked this...esp. my 6 yo daughter who loves both pirates and princesses. Ivy and Fletch have been friends forever, but once they go to school they begin to make other friends and for a time will only play with children of the same gender...the boys play pirates and the girls play princesses. But Ivy and Fletch shake things up on the playground and recess is about to become a lot more fun!

[Amber]

Pirates and Princesses is about a little boy Fletch and a little girl Ivy who have been the best of friends since birth. Then comes kindergarten where the boys play with only boys and the girls play with only girls. The Pirate team and the Princess Team.

A really cute story about how one boy and girl teach all of the others how to play with each other on the playground. A wonderful teaching tool for peer pressure, friendship and play.

[Rochelle Sondae]

I'm placing this one on the "school-skills" shelf because it is about a boy and a girl learning to incorporate both of their favorite things into their recess shenanigans so that they can play together. I believe our storyteller read it sometime last year during our monthly PJ party.

[Jennifer Rummel]

A fun story about friendship between a boy and a girl who have always been friends, but find it hard to maintain their friendship when they start school. Fun pictures show off the playfulness of the tale.

[Kim Patton]

Ivy & Fletch have been friends since birth, doing everything together. When they start kindergarten, the boys play pirates with the boys and the girls play princesses with the girls so Ivy and Fetch are forced to be apart. They find that being apart is not much fun.

[carissa]

Recommended Ages: K-2

Ivy and Fletch have been best friends since they were born but now, at age five, the boys in their kindergarten play Pirates at recess while the girls play Princesses, and the duo is split apart.

[Michelle Smith]

Ivy and Fletch have been best friends since they were born.But when it came to kindergarden all the girls played princesses and all the boys played pirates.But Ivy and Fletch wanted to play together .One day the to friends showed the other children that boys and girls c

[Jennessa]

I did not like this book at all! It's getting 3 stars because my 10 year old really liked it. I get the point of the book and the message that it was trying to convey, I just didn't like it in the least.

[Jess]

Cute book on the value of friendship. Ivy and Fletch have known each other their whole lives from diapers to kindergarten. Kindergarten tests the bonds of friendship for these two but they pull through and teach the other children the value of sharing and befriending all.

[Greta]

It wasn't quite what I expected by the title, but I actually really liked it.

[Katie]

Great book on boy-girl friendship for kindergarteners.

[Kara]

4.5

[Carrie]

Ivy and Fletch are best friends who learn about and overcome society's stereotypes for boys and girls at the tender age of five. Good story about friendship and independence.

[Kris DeLabio]

boy and girl friends forever

[Elizabeth S]

Well done. Very well done. I like this portrayal of how boys and girls don't have to play apart.

[Susan]

Unrealistic, IME, but cute nonetheless.

[Michelle]

It was okay. I wanted to like it more than I did.