Author: Melinda Long , David Shannon (Illustrator)

Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books

Pub. in: September, 2003

ISBN: 0152018484

Pages: 44

Measurements: 11.3 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches

Origin of product: USA

Order code: BC00208

Other information: Hardcover

A winner of Irma S and James H Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature

Young Jeremy Jacob is plucked from obscurity while innocently constructing a sand castle and is thrust into a brand-new life as a pirate. Captain Braid Beard and his crew recognize Jeremy as an exceptionally talented digger and they happen to be in desperate need of a digger to help them bury a treasure chest. Jeremy thinks a pirate life sounds like fun, as long as he’s back the next day in time for soccer practice, and so he goes along with the ragtag group of seafaring thugs. And while Jeremy adores the pirates’ lack of table manners and opposition to vegetables, he comes to realize that a life away from his parents lacks some of the niceties to which he’s become accustomed. Nobody tucks him in at night, for instance, and the only book available to read is a treasure map. Melinda Long’s story, narrated with a sense of boastful exaggeration by Jeremy, is full of a sense of high adventure that's lovingly evocative of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tales. David Shannon's illustrations, full of a goofy vibrancy, are a perfect accompaniment to the story.

Perhaps young Jeremy Jacob, borrowed by some wayward pirates for his digging skills (to hide the treasure), offers the best clue: "But nobody tells pirates to go bed, to take a bath, or to brush their teeth... In addition, they don't change into pajamas-unless they want to. Pirates don't do anything they don't want to-except for maybe swabbing the decks.

Jeremy Jacob has great fun with the personable pirates. He learns pirate manners, plays soccer on deck, and sits on a gigantic treasure chest, with a jeweled crown on his head and doubloons at his feet. Jeremy thinks he has found his calling. However, there's a downside to piracy. Melinda Long starts slowly, as Jeremy notes that pirates' teeth are green since they don't have to brush them. There are other signs of civilization and family life that he begins to wish for, things he probably took for granted before. There's no one to read him a story or tuck him into bed. And, when a fierce storm comes, with "everyone yelling and lowering and battening" he decides that maybe pirate life isn't as cushy and romantic as he thought. Besides, he has his family, his home, a dog, and soccer back on land.

The pirate story parody is so easy to contrive that it risks formulaic retelling. However, author Long's humorous dialogue and sense of comic timing are great read-out-loud material. The pirate crew, for example repeatedly acts as a chorus to the Captain's commands: And if you ever need us, "Braid Beard added, "just run the Jolly Roger up yonder pile" "Up yonder pole!" the others shouted. This device gets a little old after awhile, but it's the kind of interplay elicits laughter when read aloud. David Shannon's acrylic illustrations are big, boldly colorful, and dynamic: He crowds the pirates together and slightly distorts size to convey the bustling deck and interior. Shannon draws one pirate with a patch on the left eye and one on the right, the dubiously blind pirate removes them one at a time to look at the surrounding activity. In a now famous picture among book fans, Shannon replicates "Washington Crossing the Delaware" in a spread showing the pirates and Jeremy rowing towards the ship. It's a comical picture and Long knows when to lay back: She writes only "That's how I became a pirate" at the top of the page. Great illustrations and a narrative that honors both the adventurous and the tender make this pirate story a standout.

Target readers: Baby-Preschool

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