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     "Be sure of it," said Lovelock. "This is the last time Mousebeard gets the better of me."
     Emiline shrank back into the passageway, the word 'Mousebeard' circling endlessly through her thoughts. He was the pirate of pirates: bigger, nastier, and hairier than any other. Ever since she was tiny she'd heard horrible tales of him and the infamous mice that lived in his beard.
     With her heart beating heavily, Emiline checked the mouse in her care. It was snoring sweetly, and making occasional sleepy squeaks. Something exciting was happening – something bigger and greater than anything that normally happened to a mousekeeper. She wanted to be part of it..."


Overview:
Twelve-year-old Emiline Orelia is mousekeeper for Isiah Lovelock, Old Town's most famous mouse collector and one of its wealthiest citizens. Emiline cares for her own Grey Mouse, named Portly, as well as all of the mice in Lovelock's vast collection. It's not a glamorous job, but Emiline is very good at it, and hopes one day to become a mousehunter, so she can go out and discover new and interesting mice.

In Emiline's world, collecting and trading mice is valued above all else - but these are no ordinary field mice. There is the Sharpclaw Mouse: a sneaky, mischievous mouse with huge, dagger-like claws on its front paws that can slice through even wood and metal with ease. Or the Magnetical Mouse: prized by sailors for their bulletlike nose that always points due north. Or the Howling Moon Mouse: best known of all the howler mice, it howls only on nights with a full moon. And this is only to name a few.

When Mousebeard, the most feared pirate on the Seventeen Seas, sinks Lovelock's merchant ship, Lovelock hires Captain Devlin Drewshank to hunt him down and capture him. Emiline overhears the deal and, seeing this as the chance of a lifetime, runs away and boards Drewshank's ship, excited to be on the adventure. The journey is a dangerous one, filled with pirates, and battles, and even sea monsters. And Emiline soon comes to realize that all is not exactly as she thought it was, and that no one she's met is exactly who she thought they were.

 
For Teachers and Librarians:
The Mousehunter is a book your students will love reading, and a book you will love for the many ways you can use it in your classes.

How about a character study? Have your students - either individually or in groups - create character trading cards for each character in the book, with an illustration of the character on one side, and on the other, list the character's motivations, personality traits, and the events in which the character has important roles, etc.

Have any map geeks in your students' midst? This story lends itself perfectly to some cartography fun: have them research maps and mapmaking from early times, and the beliefs of those who made the maps. Discuss how the cartographers' and society's beliefs dictated to some extent what went on a map (i.e. sea monsters, indications of the edge of the earth, etc.) Then have your students create a map of the world of The Mousehunter, complete with markings consistent with the beliefs of the characters and their society, notations of the places where important events occurred, and indications of the journeys taken in the book.

Pirates! No study of a piratey book is complete without some piratey lessons, now is it? Have your students compare/contrast Captain Drewshank with Captain Mousebeard, maybe presented with a skull-and-crossbones motif, or drawings of their respective ships. Complete a mini-unit on the seafaring life: types of pirate ships, parts of the ship, ship's crew and the duties of each (with special mention of the specialized crewmen created for this book's pirates), and maybe even some fun discussions/research concerning the naming of a pirate ship. And what about a quick discussion on pirates vs privateers? Cap off this mini-unit with small groups creating labeled models of Drewshank's and Mousebeard's ships, complete with crew. And of course, there's a curse. Great stuff can be found on pirates and their curse beliefs, given even a cursory bit of research. (Sorry. Couldn't help myself there...)

I'm running out of room, but there are so many more ways to go with this book: a unit on island life and its impact upon people who live there (great anthropology and/or societal connections here); the habits and behaviors of hobbyists and collectors; animal classification (Illustrated mouse trading cards! Or go one better: clay models of the mice, along with accompanying description cards.); science/scientific study of animals; animal classification/care/study; evolution/adaptation of animal species; politics and how it impacts people and society. So many ways to go. Which will you choose?

Other ideas? Feel free to list them in the comments.


For Parents, Grandparents and Caregivers:
Your kiddos will have a blast reading this book, and so will you. Besides being an exciting, mysterious, pirate-and-mouse-filled adventure, The Mousehunter has lots to think about. For example, the book has several characters who have various contradictions about them. Some are good guys with bad intentions, some are bad guys with good intentions. What is it that causes a person to be seen as "good" or "bad?" Actions? Behavior? Does how the person is perceived by others influence what/who they are? Or is it the other way around?

This book also explores themes of friendship, enemies, trust, and betrayal. How do you tell the difference between an enemy and a friend? Or is it not that black and white? Can a person be a little bit of both? What do you do when a friend that you trust lets you down? How do you feel, and what can you do about those feelings?

The Mousehunter is fun to read, with its pirates and unusual mice and such, but it also explores the sometimes complicated ways people relate to each other, and it hints that sometimes, people are not completely what they seem - which can be both good and not-so-good, depending on the situation. And don't we face things like that in real life every day? (Well, maybe not the pirates and the unusual mice...)


For the Kids:
If you like adventure on the high seas, and pirates, and mice, then this is the book for you. OK. I know what you're thinking: Did she just say high seas and pirates...and mice? Yes. Yes I did. But the seas and pirates and mice in The Mousehunter are not your average, run-of-the-mill seas and pirates and mice. Nope. See, there are seventeen seas in Emiline's world, for one thing. And for another, the pirates are mouse-obsessed - though in their defense, so is practically everybody else in their world. And the mice? Well, they're like no mice you've ever seen before - some are older than old, some are almost four feet tall, some are bloodsuckers, some have wings, and some even have magnetic noses. Throw into the mix a couple of clashing pirate captains, a very wealthy dude who isn't quite the upstanding citizen people believe him to be, and a mysterious long-ago curse, and you've got a book you will not want to put down. (So why are you still sitting here reading this? Shoo! Go find yourself a copy of The Mousehunter and get reading. Adventure awaits!)


Wrapping Up:
The Mousehunter is full of danger, intrigue, mystery, adventure, and tons of mouse-collecting, swashbuckling fun. It is a book not to be missed.


Title: The Mousehunter
Author and Illustrator: Alex Milway
Pages: 448
Reading Level: Ages 10-12
Publisher and Date: Little, Brown and Company, February 2009
Edition: First US Edition
Language: English
Published In: United States
Price: $15.99
ISBN-10: 0316024546
ISBN-13: 978-0-316-02454-9


 

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…………………… Victricia Malicia: Book-Loving Buccaneer Carrie Clickard, author Mark Meyers, illustrator 4 Stars ………….. Inside Front Jacket:  Victricia Malicia Barrett may have been born on a pirate ship and raised in all the best pirate ways, but she sure is a wreck on deck. Her knots slip, she falls from the rigging, and rats abandon [...]

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4 Stars Drummer Boy of John John Mark Greenwood Frané Lessac Lee and Low Books Pages: 32         Ages: 4+ Jacket:  Carnival is coming and the villagers of John John, Trinidad, are getting ready to jump up and celebrate with music dancing, and a     parade. Best of all, the Roti King has promised free rotis—tasty friend [...]

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4 Stars Chase Danger, Super Spy: Pirates of Pineapple Island Chase & Lisa Olivera Adam Goodman 32 Pages:    Ages: 4 to 7 ................... From Website:  7-year-old super-spies Chase Danger and Princess Ali Bali must think fast when they discover pirates have stolen Zalezgon’s magical pineapples.  But that’s not all!  Ali’s little brother Aiden has been [...]

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……… Today we have a fun interview with a powerful character. His name is Chase Danger and he is a seven-year-old Super Spy. Yes, you read that correctly, he is seven-years-old, 7!  And he is a super spy.  Here with Chase Danger is one of the co-authors of the second book in the series., Chase [...]

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Welcome to my Fall into Fantasy giveaway,  hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and The Write Path.This hop runs from October 16 to October 21, and you can win lots of new reads.  Click here for a complete list of blogs participating in the hop.

I recently read The Assassin’s Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke and loved it.  I am giving away an ARC of the book, because I know that you’ll enjoy it, too!

About the book:

Entering is easy! Just fill out the widget below. Earn extra entries for following! US addresses only, please.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Carrie Clickard, author of Victricia Malicia: Book-Loving Buccaneer, visited the Rose Marie Byron Center, an after-school program in Daytona, FL, on October 8, 2012.

The little buccaneers made pirate crafts designed by Carrie (available on www.victriciamalicia.com), including pirate hats and paper parrots. The students also indulged in some homemade pirate edibles.

Check out the pictures below!

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Title:  The Assassin’s Curse Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke Publisher:  Strange Chemistry The Assassin’s Curse Digital (Only $6.01 for the eBook!)

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

I love books like The Assassin’s Curse.  The premise sounded intriguing, but when I first started reading it, I wasn’t sure that I would like Ananna.  She’s rough and unpolished, the daughter of pirates.  She’s a thief, she lies with aplomb, and she just didn’t seem like someone I wanted to know better.  But like Aria in Under the Never Sky, by the time I reached the fourth chapter, I had a drastic change of heart. While Ananna could be crude and violent, she was also brave and ready to fight for her own freedom.  After fleeing from an arranged marriage, she opens a huge can of worms that includes an assassin with her name on his hit list, a curse that she unwittingly unleashes, and an adventure the likes of which she could have never imagined.  Neither could I, when I first sat down with Ananna and Naji.  By the last page, I wanted more of their story and more of their larger than life journey. Even more than that,  I wanted them to be happy, and to be safe from the dangers that stalked them. 

I read The Assassin’s Curse in less than a day.  It is a fast read, one that you won’t be able to put down.  Ananna careens from one life-threatening situation to the next with the speed and trajectory of a pinball, and the only thing she has to keep her alive is her courage and her razor sharp wits.  She may not have had the benefit of an education like Naji or her ally Marjani, but she is far more clever than either of them.  She also has a steadfast confidence in her own abilities, which gave her an edge in every thing she did.  Ananna is street smart and street savvy; she has been raised among cutthroats and thieves, and she fully expected to take her place as a pirate ship’s captain, whether she was a girl or not.  Her gender just gave her more of a challenge to make her dream of owning her own ship, with her own colors, come true, and she wasn’t going to give that up.  Ditching her stupid fiancé was easier than ditching the scary, shadowy assassin his family set loose on her, but Ananna didn’t even back down from Naji and his deadly, mysterious blood magic. 

I loved the gradual friendship that develops between Ananna and her would be killer.  Naji didn’t strike me as the kind of guy who could take money to commit murder, but when pushed, he suddenly turned into a freaking badass.  One with little common sense, but with all of that magic at his command, he was able to move mountains.  Literally.  What happened after that, well, that was anyone’s guess, especially when he depleted his energy so much that he could barely remain upright.  Given his impulsiveness and, at times, his complete lack of common sense, I wasn’t surprised that he was the victim of an impossible curse.  That Ananna, his would be target, set the curse into motion made the premise of the book that much more enjoyable.  These two extremely diverse people are stuck with each other, not able to venture far apart, and they must learn to get along and, more importantly, learn to work together, to find an answer to Naji’s problem.  As long as the magic shackles them together, Ananna is a target of a different sort.  Powerful magical beings want Naji, and they will do anything to get him, including using, or hurting,  Ananna. 

My one nick pick with the book is, as usual, the lack of an ending, but I felt optimistic and happy when I reached the last page.  I don’t even know why, because Ananna and Naji are left with more questions and challenges than answers at the end.  I think that I just enjoyed spending my time with them so much that Ananna’s optimism rubbed off on me.  She knows that they will overcome all of the impossible tasks before them, and she knows that, one way or another, all of her dreams will come true.  Even though she despairs at Naji’s cluelessness, and even though his disregard cut to the bone, both Ananna and I know this one thing; Naji’s impossible curse has at least one possible cure.  It’s a pity that we must both wait until the next book for him to finally open his eyes to the answer that is sitting right in front of him.

Grade:  B+/A-

Review copy provided by publisher

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Shiver me Timbers! Douglas Florian. Illustrated by Robert Neubecker. 2012. Simon & Schuster. 32 pages.

Douglas Florian is one of my favorite poets, I do tend to love his books. Shiver Me Timbers has to be one of my favorites. These pirate poems are so much fun!!! I definitely enjoyed the poems and the paintings. (I love the fact that the book says, "Pirates by Robert Neubecker.") I do have favorites, however!!!

I loved the opening poem, "Pirates Wear Patches." From the very first stanza, I knew that the book, the whole book, was going to be great fun.

And I couldn't wait to begin this adventure. I also loved "Me, Pirate." This poem is so much fun, very descriptive, and I just loved the ending! "Pirates Pirate" was also great fun! In fact, it may just be my favorite of the book. (Well, I'm not sure I could pick just one favorite. But if I had to narrow it down to one or two or three, this one would come close to being the one.) Here's how it begins: Some pirates pirate rubies. Some pirates pirate gold. Some pirates pirate diamonds: All that hands can hold.

I just love poetry like this. It is fun, playful, inviting, and it just flows so well, so rhythmic. I would definitely recommend this one!!! And I'd definitely recommend Douglas Florian!

The poems included:

• Pirates Wear Patches
• Pirate Patter
• The Pirates' Code of Conduct
• Names for Pirates
• Pirate Punishment
• Hiring Pirates
• Pirates' Meal
• Blackbeard
• Buried Treasure
• Me, Pirate
• Pirates Pirate
• Turtle Day
• Captain Kidd
• Pirate Flags
• Me Pirate Weapons
• Rule of the Pirate
• Pyrates
• Arrr!
• A Pirate's Life

Read Shiver Me Timbers

• If you're looking for fun, playful poetry that may excite readers to read/write poetry
• If you're looking for pirate-themed picture books

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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 Don't let it pass uncelebrated.  Here are a few suggestions:

• Change your LibraryThing account from English to "Piratical."
• Use Google in Pirate.  (to sign out, "Catch the outgoin' tide")
• Try the English-to-Pirate translator.
• Make some piratey crafts.
• And of course, READ like a pirate, too! 

Here are a few that I've read and reviewed, or choose your favorites.

• Foley, Lizzie K. 2012. Remarkable. New York: Dial. (funny and quirky middle-grade fiction)
• Wolfe, Myra. 2011. Charlotte Jane Battles Bedtime. Ill. by Maria Monescillo. New York: Harcourt. (humorous picture book for ornery pirates at bedtime)
• Reinier, Aaron. 2010. The Unsinkable Walker Bean. New York: First Second (:01). (a swashbuckling graphic novel adventure)
• Clifford, Barry. 2008. Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship.Washington, DC: National Geographic. (nonfiction for older readers)

And here's a new one from FlashLight Press.

How will you celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day?

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Here are some cheap reads to feed your Kindle or Kindle app for the weekend!  These are all pirate themed books.  Who can resist a pirate?  Arrrrr!

The Buccaneer by Donna Fletcher ($2.99)

Blood and Treasure (A Romancing the Pirate Novel) by Jennifer Bray-Weber ($2.99) This is the first book in her Romancing the Pirate series

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Here are some nicely priced romances to feed your Kindle or Kindle app!

Three books for the price of one! Elizabeth Boyle’s The Brazen Trilogy (The Brazen Series) only $6.99!

Gentleman Says "I Do" by Amelia Grey (only .99!)

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I have so many reasons to recommend The Six Crowns series by Gary Chalk and Allan Frewin Jones I'm not sure where to start. The Six Crowns is a highly readable, fantastically illustrated fantasy series that can easily take its place next to standards like Brian Jaques' Redwall series and Chris Riddell and Paul Stewart's Edge Chronicles. In fact, The Six Crowns is a perfect blending of these

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Title: Voyage of the Sea Wolf Author:  Eve Bunting Publisher:  Sleeping Bear Press

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

After enjoying The Pirate Captain’s Daughter so much, I was hyped to start reading The Voyage of the Sea Wolf.  Ultimately I was disappointed, as the characters all displayed a shocking lack of common sense, especially Catherine, who was so resourceful in the last book.  I guess watching your father murdered and then being dumped on a deserted island would be cause to completely lose your marbles, but I was really hoping for better from our plucky heroine.  Her near death experience left her incapable of making one commendable decision until the very end of the book.  The ending is another disappointment.  Without giving out too many spoilers, William and Catherine are left in pretty much the same situation as the prior book. Ugh!

When the young lovers are rescued, saved from the brink of death, they have new challenges to face.  They’ve been rescued by another pirate ship, this one captained by a fierce woman who imagines herself to be like her namesake,  Medb, the daughter of the High King of Ireland and a brutally calculating warrior who took what she wanted, when she wanted it.  Like her namesake, Medb is cold and cruel, and when she sees William, she wants him.  I found this storyline wearying.  She is significantly older than William, yet for Medb, it is lust at first sight.  She will have him, because he reminds her of her lost love.  She will possess him, for no other reason than this uncanny resemblance to a man she drove away years before.  This made no sense to me, regardless of how handsome William was.  He was but a boy to her, and the attraction creeped me out.  Considering that Medb is a bloodthirsty, possibly psychotic  pirate, this shouldn’t have turned me off like it did, but I couldn’t get beyond how gross is was to me.

To egg her on, William is disrespectful and defiant.  Medb, her heart lost to William, took all of her anger out on Catherine.  This is another plot point that drove me nuts.  Catherine knew that Medb was just looking for any excuse to get rid of her so she could have William all to herself, yet she purposefully  does stupid things to piss the pirate captain off.  Let’s stop for just one second and think about

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If you’re a (book) pirate, don’t cross swords with mega-author Terry Goodkind. As the London Observer reports:

Goodkind was outraged, and decided to name one of the pirates on his Facebook page, posting the perpetrator's details – including a photo – and prompting an onslaught of online fury against him.

Read the whole story here.

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 5 Stars Back Cover:  When Stubby Pencil Noodlehead is forced to stand in front of his class to explain why he is late for school every day, the resulting tale is more than the teacher bargained for.  Stubby’s story of pirates, pygmies, mastodons, and more, turns classroom order to chaos, and has yhe teacher begging [...]

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Pirate Princess by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen with superb illustrations by Jill McElmurry is a welcome addition to the relatively small world of good pirate picture books, especially since it features that rare creature, the pirate girl. I'm sorry, I can't say "pirate girl" without starting to sing this awesome They Might Be Giants song that I have to include here for your listening enjoyment as

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The Pirates Next Door by Jonny Duddle has been on my to-review pile for a long time. I really rather like the book, but I’ve found it hard to write a review because I can’t help but read it as a satirical story, commenting on society’s attitudes towards “outsiders” (immigrants, travellers, people who are somehow “other”). It’s been difficult for me to find the words to write a book review rather than a political rant.

M (7) would say it’s a extremely funny story about a dream scenario: just how exciting would it be if a real pirate family pitched up to live in our street whilst they repaired their ship? Answer: VERY! And if they left treasure chests behind? …Even better!

My adult head says it’s a rather acutely observed tale about how most people in a neighbourhood react with horror when an strange family arrive in town; there are complaints the pirates don’t wash, they are untidy, they terrorize the people they come into contact with. All in all, most of the pirates’ (grown up) neighbours agree “they won’t fit in round here”.

After a long list of complaints from neighbours, the pirates eventually move on their way, leaving behind wealth and a display of generosity that puts the local residents to shame.

Did Duddle write this book as a commentary on society’s attitudes to “outsiders”? I don’t know. What I do know is that it speaks strongly to me because of my own experience of foreigner nimby-ism: I once had a family of Kurdish refugees as neighbours who enriched my life with generous gifts of lamb dishes perfumed with dill, and stories of humanity against a backdrop of the atrocities committed against their families by Saddam Hussain. They were lovely people. And yet I witnessed them being harassed, abused and threatened by local residents, residents who didn’t even know where they came from (always calling my neighbours Turks – completely incorrectly) but who for some reason felt threatened by this kind, creative family.

But put aside this personal connection, and you’re still left with a great book (indeed, earlier this year it won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize). Told in rhyme (I want to sing the text, playing my accordion, as if it were a sea shanty that a pirate might very well sing themselves), this is a story for kids of dreams come true. What fun to have naughty neighbours doing everything that you’ve always wanted to do yourself (not having to wash, making people walk the plan, dressing up like a pirate), and how brilliant that in the end they leave you treasure and invite them to sail away with them next holidays.

The illustrations are glossy and remind me of Pixar animations – no doubt these will appeal hugely to kids used to a diet of tv/film/game animation. There are lots of fun details in the pictures (

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Category: Young Adult Science Fiction
Keywords: Fantasy, dystopian, ships, pirates, genetic engineering, family
Format: Hardcover, ebook, audiobook


I was a little apprehensive about picking this one up. While I thought Bacigalupi's last book, The Windup Girl, was interesting, it wasn't a favorite. But a long road trip prompted me to pick up Ship Breaker in audio book at the library. Luckily, my fears were unfounded, and I am really glad I took a chance on it.

The book takes place in a grim future where where global warming has caused a major shift in the ecological landscape. Rising water levels and "city killer" storms have left large metropolitan areas covered in water and refuse. Nailer, a young teenage boy, works a dangerous job on the light crew, stripping old tanker ships that have washed ashore for copper wire and other salvageable parts. Living a hand to mouth existence, with an abusive father at home, Nailer knows that any day might be his last. A lucky encounter with a downed clipper ship brings Nailer and his friend Pima to Nita, a "swank" rich girl and the only survivor of the ship. Nailer decides to risk it all to save Nita with the hope that she'll help him leave the ship yards for good.

Ship Breaker is a tense roller coaster ride that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Well plotted and well paced, there's never a dull moment. With a male protagonist and an emphasis on peril and adventure, I can see this book appealing to boys. There's a bit of romance thrown in, though it's minor compared to everything else that happens in the book.

Bacigalupi does a great job of creating a unique and believable dystopian future, one both familiar but also very different than our own. He tackles some heavy themes, including environmental responsibility, class disparity, and notions of family and loyalty. Though a bit heavy handed at times, Bacigalupi manages not to sound too preachy. Though their world is often cruel and heartless, there still exists kindness, friendship and love, as demonstrated by Nailer and others in the story.

While the world is vast and rich, what impressed me the most about the book were the characters in it. They are diverse in breeding and background and are a complex lot, damaged and imperfect. No character is all good or all ba

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Story and drawings by Mervyn Peake  Originally published in Country Life magazine 1939 Macmillian 1967 reprinted by Candlewick 2001 The Captain and his oddball crew settle in on an uncharted island where they encounter a creature the color of butter and then... do nothing?   The good Captain is a bruiser who has run through his share of crew. His ship, The Black Tiger, has lost many a men to

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• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (December 5, 2011)
• Language: English
• Buy the Book: Amazon

     Determined to stake their claim on the dark waters, renegade Vampirates are expanding. But the Pirate Federation and the once-neutral Nocturnal Vampirates are determined to thwart their efforts and destroy every rebel Vampirate ship in sight. Meanwhile, shocking secrets about their family history have twins Connor and Grace questioning every allegiance they've ever made. There's a bloody battle brewing on the seas, and one thing is tragically clear: This time, no ship is safe.


     I know what you're thinking, "vampires? Has Faith gone to the dark side?" Well, the answer is no, these vampires are the real deal, not the sparkly ones that have relationship problems and give birth to creepy monsters. Lol no, these are pirates, and they rock. This book was definitely the saddest and it made me (almost) cry twice. There are many deaths in this book, but I'm not going to tell you who dies because that would just give it all away. I love how Justin Somper mixed the pirates and vampires together in these books, it makes the vampires far less detestable, and you get a lot of cool battle scenes that get you on the edge of your seat. I liked how Grace and Connor finally had to face what they are, and they chose the good side. And an added bonus, Grace finally sorts out her feelings (I said they don't have relationship problems but everybody does once in a while right?) and she picks Lorcan. (That's good cuz I called dibs on Johnny anyway :P) This book was pretty clean except for one word (only repeated twice) and kissing. (Grace kissing Johnny when she's dating Lorcan *rolls eyes*)


      I didn't like how Cheng Li said that word and then Connor repeated it, it was funny, but it was the last thing expected, especially from Cheng Li! I also didn't like how some important people died, and some of the said people were vampire-ified! At least they aren't totally gone.

     My favorite characters in the book were definitely Johnny, he's the cowboy vampirate, and he is totally awesome! He is a bad boy, but he has other sides to him also, making him a hard nut to crack. He is completely in love with Grace, and tries to steal her away from Lorcan. I have to say Jez, well, Stukely now, and Bart too. Stukely is the funny guy, but he's also killer at sword fighting, literally! And Bart is the sweetest guy ever, he's so awesome and hilarious. My favorite female character is Darcy Flotsam, she is a flapper, and also Grace's best friend. She is really cool, and she always knows when something is up with Grace, and she always tells Grace exactly what she needs to feel better.


     My least favorite characters were Lady Lola because she killed one of the main charris that should not have been killed. Also Lola's girls, who killed another person who should not have been killed. (They are pretty cool though- the girls not Lola-) I always have to say Moonshine too, even though he isn't really in this book that much. He's just... icky. lol

     A few notes about the book, firstly, this is NOT the first one, read the first one first to know what is going on! Secondly it can be kinda freaky sometimes, and pretty violent, like, decapitating violent. Also, as I

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AdoraPet’s Pima Puppy and Pico Puppy Series  4 stars Author: YiShaun Yang Illustrators: Jeeyun Lee & Claire Cho Publisher: AdoraPet Publishing Publication Date: 2011 Number of Pages: 24 each book The AdoraPet’s Series, star Pima Puppy and Pico Puppy, two lovable characters ready to take your children on many journeys.  At a time when children’s [...]

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I have to confess, Jake Parker's fantastic artwork for the cover of Fish by Gregory Mone caught my eye right away. Also, believe it or not, there are very few works of historical fiction featuring pirates that I have come across in my years as a children's bookseller. On top of that, at 241 pages Fish is perfect for high reading younger readers and reluctant older readers. But, best of all, Fish 

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*Concept book for preschoolers/kindergarteners
*Little “pirates” as main characters
*Rating: Pirate Nap: A Book of Colors is so cute and perfect for the little guys and gals in our lives who are learning their colors AND fighting to take a nap!

Short, short summary:

Danna Smith tells us about the colors in our little pirates’ lives, using fun rhyme, while Valeria Petrone fills in the blanks with cute and clever illustrations! For example, let’s look at GREEN. “Mark the spot. We must be brave! Find GREEN treasures in a cave.” The illustration is of the two boys finding green boots in the attic. The story continues as the boys enjoy being pirates, and their mother tries to round them up for a nap. Who will win this power struggle?

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Whether you are reading this to a room full of preschoolers or to your own at home, you can find pirate treasures in the room that are the same color as some of them in the book. What do you have in your room that could be considered a YELLOW treasure? What about GREEN? Make a list together.

2. What rhyming words do your little guys hear when you are reading this book to them? Ask them to raise their hands or point to the page every time they hear a pair of rhyming words. See if they can name some of the pairs when the book is over.

3. Pirate vocabulary runs rampant through this book. Many of your young pirates may know words like “mast” or “loot.” But others might not. Make a list of the words you think are pirate words before you read the book. After you read it and share the illustrations, see if children can define any of the words, using context (text and illustrations).

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Sailing into a store near you: our newest book, Victricia Malicia: Book-Loving Buccaneer, written by Carrie L. Clickard and illustrated by Mark Meyers.

Publishers Weekly says:

Clickard takes rhyme and meter seriously, achieving, at her best, a Gilbert and Sullivan–like patter…. Meyers… provides lots of pirate detail and even an ironic moment or two…. Rollicking, sea-chantey verse and slapstick humor make this a promising readaloud.

Although Victricia Malicia Calamity Barrett was born on her family’s pirate ship, this mild-mannered, book-loving girl is sick of the sea:

“I gag when my lunch is Spaghetti Tentacular,
hate when my sisters speak pirate vernacular,
want a new pet that’s not scaly or spiny,
and wish I could keep my books somewhere less briny!”

To find out more about Victricia’s seafaring adventure, her mishaps on board, and her encounter with a terrifying sea serpent, see the PDF preview of  Victricia Malicia. Check out the newly released Victricia Malicia trailer and sing-along here, and be sure to dig into the treasure trove of free printable activities and games at VictriciaMalicia.com

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