Rabbit Pirates: A Tale of the Spinach Main

by Judy Cox, Emily Arnold McCully (Illustrations)

Monsieur Lapin and Monsieur Blanc own the Spinach Main, a restaurant in the south of France famous for its fresh vegetables and excellent cuisine. Business is good until the day Monsieur Reynard, the fox, walks in. "Such tasty patrons--I mean portions," he says. "I plan to eat here often." The restaurant empties. What can Monsieur Lapin and Monsieur Blanc do? They have given up their pirate ways and are now rabbits of peace, but the fox is not easily discouraged. Then, one dark night, when the rabbits are sitting outside on their terrace admiring the moon . . .

Genres: Picture Books, Rabbits, Pirates

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 2, 1999

About the author

Author of children's books

Reviews

[eRin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Monsieur Lapin and Monsieur Blanc are old friends--former piraes--who have opened a small restaurant, the Spinach Main. The two make tasty dishes of raddishes, onions, lettuce, and other yummy veggies. Things are quiet until one day a fox comes into the restaurant and behaves strangely after eating, promising to come back. The two men are a little worried, but do not want to revert back to pirate fighting. They may be forced to, however, as the fox threatens more and more...

This is a cute little book--I especially loved the inclusion of a few french words throughout (my basic--very basic--knowledge of french thankfully did not need the dictionary at the front). I wasn't too excited about the illustrations--they appeared too heavy for my liking. But overall, it is a cute little book--with a nonviolent message in the end!

[Friend of Pixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are re-reading almost our whole collection of picture books because Logan doesn't remember most of them from when we read them several years ago. He did remember this one a bit though. He said pirate rabbits make a big impression. Two rabbits who use to be pirates together are now living in Provence and running a (of course) vegetarian restaurant called The Spinach Main. One day, a fox starts coming in regularly and it's clear he has ulterior motives. They both have different ideas about how to solve this problem. Humorous, some French vocab thrown in, and nice illustrations.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute book, a story about two ex-pirate rabbits who have given up violence and need to come up with a *pacifist* way to scare off the fox who is threatening them and their customers.

Naturally, they succeed, and in a very *satisfying* way :)

The illustrations alone are to die for. I really recommend this.

[Stephanie Ung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book to have students take roles in and read aloud with feeling and character. Follow up with a vegetarian cook book and have students create then write up recipe and instructions for cooking in sequence.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is awesome - right up until the 7th time you read it for bedtime.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story and pictures...a little lack luster for my kids.

[Windy]

Now that's just clever.