Pirate Pete's Talk Like a Pirate

by Kim Kennedy, Doug Kennedy (Illustrations)

Popular Pete is Perfect for Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Following the success of Pirate Pete and Pirate Pete’s Giant Adventure comes a new book by the celebrated brother-and-sister team of Doug and Kim Kennedy. In this new adventure, Pete has a wonderful new ship, but no crew. But not just any crew will do. As Pete

“Ye gots to be stubborn and mighty cranky,
Ye gots to be dirty and awfully stanky!
Ye gots to load a cannon and know how to fire it,
But most of all, ye gots to talk
like a pirate!”

One by one Pete interviews his potential crew, and one by one they get the boot! Whoever will he find to help him sail the high seas? A hilarious and fun-to-read-aloud book that will have every child talking like a pirate.

Praise for the Pirate Pete books

Family Choice Award

“Arrr, matey, ’tis a fine book indeed.” — Kansas City Star

“Lots of fun for pint-size buccaneers.” — Booklist

“Should keep young mateys anchored to their seats.” — Kirkus

“Clever dialogue, funny illustrations and just the right amount of suspense . . . simply terrific.” — The Dallas Morning News

Genres: Picture Books, Pirates, Childrens, School, Humor

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

I was born in Northeast Louisiana, where I was raised on the bayou with my four brothers and neighborhood friends. We spent most of our time playing, fishing, and exploring the wonderland of Cypress trees and Spanish moss. Something about the scenery ignited our imaginations. We built cardboard forts along the shadowy bank. We cruised the waters in a "pirate ship" (a leaky Jon boat). And we told stories, lots of stories, until our parents came looking for us...or the alligators came out! And that is where my love of storytelling all began.

Reviews

[Jessica Adams Duzan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for "Pirate" Storytime. Pirate Pete is looking for a crew. They have to be dirty, fierce, have a hook and peg leg, brave, love treasure, know how to load a cannon and fire it. But most importantly, they have to "talk like a pirate." He comes across many candidates, they all look/smell promising until they open their mouths to speak. One by one they have to walk the plank. In the end Pirate Pete comes to realize that the perfect person for his crew is his trusty Parrot.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this clever, funny picture book, Pirate Pete auditions possible crew members and they keep failing because they don't talk like pirates. They say things in hilariously sophisticated ways, and Pirate Pete sends them off the plank, saying the same message in the pirate-talk they should have used.

This is a lot of fun. However, I opted not to use this for storytime. This was partly situational, since the reserved copy had multiple taped pages, but I also thought that the humor would be lost on the younger kids, since they would have to be familiar with the vocabulary and/or concepts to grasp what everyone was saying and why it was funny. This would be great for elementary-aged kids, however.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

A recommended read aloud for ages 6-8 by Minnesota State University. This is a great elementary read aloud. Who doesn't like to talk like a pirate? Who doesn't love to listen to pirate talk? Kids get both as a pirate tests aspiring pirates to see if they are worthy enough to be in his crew. A great read aloud for grades 4 and below.

[Hannah Dahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lower Primary
Fiction

I thought this book was super cute. As I was reading I figured that it could be a super cute addition to national Talk like a Pirate Day! I liked that the pirate realizes what a true mate he has in his parrot in the end. I think this book could be used to encourage students to stay true to themselves - just like the scallywags in this book did!

[Stephen Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is highly entertaining and hilarious! My students laughed so hard over this book and wanted me to read it to them thrice.

Bravo Kim Kennedy and Doug Kennedy!

Thank you for the loan Franklin Public Library!

[Harlyn Rengel · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this book has a few illustrations that I really like I like the one where he sees rascal island but that’s literally the only one I really like what I don’t like about it is that he just keeps repeating himself by saying the same things to all the sailors you got to talk like a pirate

[Wendee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new favorite for me and my boys. Its a great pirate book

[Mrs Heet -Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute story perfect for talk like a pirate day, this book is geared more toward the lower elementary age.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The hit of my pirate storytime. Amusing book and fun to read aloud. The illustrations were bright and clear enough for storytime, and a few actions or repeats can be added to help engage the kids.

[Savannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was at my local story trail this month! I enjoyed reading along with it in silly voices. :)

[Cynthia June Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

too much text for storytime/read-aloud

[Casandria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Talk like a pirate or else! Not my cup of tea.

[Steve Holden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love celebrating "Talk Like a Pirate Day" with my class, and this has become a perfect, silly companion for on of my activities. The Pirate Pete series is fun, and I recommend all for such a day or for a primary classroom, but this one makes for an especially fun read aloud. Of course, you need to be able to deliver with a good pirate voice!

[Lisa (Bookworm Lisa) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished reading this with my son in kindergarten. Pirate Pete wants a crew. His one stipulation is that they have to talk like a pirate. Four applicants for the job show up, but none can talk like a pirate, so they must walk the plank. It's a funny read.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading this book to my little scurvy dogs ;). The first time I read it I laughed so much I thought we were going to need to stop for a bathroom break. Even now I still giggle (and we've had it since last November).

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fantastic read-aloud story that had the whole family in stitches. I've also used this picture book to illustrate the concept of Voice to creative writing students.

Beautiful, bright illustrations, to boot.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has rapidly become a favorite in our house. My son requests it more than any other. Even I really enjoy reading it & hope to add it to our library some day. I think my boy gets a kick out of me using different voices for the pirate, parrot, and rascals. A very fun book!

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young pirate fans will enjoy this book.

[Greta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kind of funny. I love the language used by the want-to-be pirates.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collin loved this book.

[Eugenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can play with voices for this book. The kids had fun.

[Kaylee Gallup]

I read this book to the BYU preschoolers which they loved because their dramatic play that week was a pirate ship so it really helped expand their pirate imaginations.

[Tina B · Rating 2 out of 5]

"pirate, diction, cannon, parrot, vocabulary, repetition, can't be crew if can't talk like a pirate"

[Laura Fowler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really fun read, and the kind that you don't mind reading three times in a row.
Great picture book.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a fun book to recommend to a student who really enjoys pirates. It would also be fun to learn some pirate vocabulary and write a text in pirate talk.

[Pyewacket · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic read-aloud!

[Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my son's favorite book. We read this at least 2 times week.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saw this while browsing at ye olde library. Very cute. I will be checking out the rest of the series.

[Tim Vandenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books for practicing your pirate-ally dialect.

Very recommended.

[Bryce · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounding up.