The Pirates on Holiday. (Race Ahead with Reading). Adam & Charlotte Guillain. Illustrated by Rupert Van Wyk. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2015. 32 pp., pbk., hc., pdf & html, $10.95 (pbk.), $21.56 (RLB.). ISBN 978-0-7787-1394-4 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-1311-1 (RLB.), ISBN 978-1-4271-7785-8 (pdf), ISBN 978-1-4271-7773-5 (html). Subject Headings: Humorous stories. Pirates-Fiction. Vacations-Fiction. Preschool-grade 2 / Ages 4-7. Review by Roxy Garstad. **** /4

excerpt:

The swimming pool looked like fun, but the pirates weren’t allowed to row their boat in it. Then they got told off for using the diving board as a plank and making the other vacationers walk off it.

“What can we do?” wailed Cook Cockles.

Just then Captain Cuttlefish saw a poster. “Pirate party! Come dressed as a pirate. Prizes for the best costume and pirate song.”

“It’s this afternoon!” he cried. “Come on, crew! Let’s go and win some prizes!”

Another installment in the “Race Ahead with Reading” series, The Pirates on Holiday tells the story of a successful band of pirates who are in dire need of a vacation. Choosing the “Windy View Campground” as their destination, the pirates experience less-than-desirable conditions including accommodations in a small trailer, drab cooking, and an unsightly view of the sea. Other guests are, predictably, not welcoming toward the pirates, however benign they appear. In one last effort to redeem themselves, the pirates take part in a camp-wide pirate party, only to discover that the common folk do not appreciate the skills one accrues while living as a real pirate.

     The storytelling is funny and sharp, propelling the reader along in anticipation. The writing is descriptive while maintaining succinctness, making this book (and others in the same series) an ideal introduction to chapter books. The text is complemented by Van Wyk’s watercolour illustrations which depict a variety of hilarious facial expressions. Finally, with its “Notes to Adults” on the last page, the book may be used as a teaching tool.

      The Pirates on Holiday is highly recommended for all children’s book collections.

Highly Recommended.

Roxy Garstad is the Collection Assessment Librarian at MacEwan University in Edmonton, AB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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