Pajama Pirates

by Andrew Kramer, Leslie Lammle (Illustrator)

Overview

At first sight of the moon, the pajama pirates know just what to do: put on their pj′s and let the treasure hunt begin! They set sail on an adventure that′s filled with enemy pirate ships, a sword fight, a streak of lightning, and a storm sent by Mama Nature herself. But have no fear-these pajama pirates will not become shark bait. They know just what to do to outsmart their enemies and weather the storm. And all before bedtime!

Ages 5-8.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062184375
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	11/15/2011
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	9 MB
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

When he's not searching for treasure on the high seas, Andrew Kramer spends his days working at a software company and lives with his first mate and the rest of his ragtag pirate crew, Mitchell, Patrick, Jessica, and Jeffrey, in Marietta, Georgia. He doesn't have a parrot, but he does have a poodle. This is his first picture book.

Leslie Lammle is the illustrator of Pajama Pirates as well as Once Upon a Saturday, which she also wrote. Her watercolor illustrations have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and in various magazines. Inspiration for Princess Wannabe struck her one day in a dusty corner of a rare book shop, and she went straight home to start sketching. Leslie was born in Canada and now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Editorial Reviews

Lammle (Once Upon a Saturday) creates a gratifyingly warm world for newcomer Kramer's story of three children's nightly pirate game. The siblings jump on their beds ("Let others sleep;/ their day is done./ The treasure hunt/ has just begun") as they imagine an adventure for themselves. They sport cute, clownlike noses and fuzzy bedwear as they board a rowboat, their bedroom giving way to the scalloped waves of the sea, the horizon curving gently beneath them. Each spread is characterized by lots of movement; strong contrast defines and sculpts the chubby figures, and deftly applied white brushstrokes put sparkle on the waves and shine on somersaulting fish. Menaced by shiploads of non-pajama-wearing pirates, the oldest child, draped in a terrycloth bathrobe, strokes her chin and wonders what to do (" ‘Ye be shark bait, swim or sink!'/ Pajama pirates stop to think"). The three make the sail into a ghostly, flapping apparition, and the terrified pirates flee. But even these pirates have their betters, as Mama Nature, appearing as a cloud, sends them back to bed for further buccaneer dreams. Ages 5–8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Who hasn't, at some point, wanted to do something, anything other than go to bed? Three small children decide to take a stand and boisterously shirk the siren call of sleep in favor of cavorting across the seas as pirates. The arched dome of their bedroom ceiling morphs into a friendly smiling moon, while a bed becomes a rowboat that sails the rosy cheeked trio (and their dog) off on their nocturnal adventures. Playful, muted illustrations convey the twilight atmosphere while still providing lively details of the treasure hunts, rowdy sea battles and wild storms that rage. In the end the kids emerge victorious over all and return home where they finally succumb to sleep, only to dream of further treasures and voyages. Pleasantly rhymed text begs to be read aloud either on a lap or to a classroom or story time group. This is a fun little anti-bedtime story sure to please even the youngest of readers. Reviewer: Amy McMillan

Children's Literature - Amy McMillan

PreS-K—Singsong, rhyming text tells of the pre-bedtime adventures of three pink-cheeked children and their dog. Watery illustrations in blues, greens, and oranges create a dreamy mood as the bedroom scene evolves and expands into full-bleed spreads of high-sea adventure. The children in their small bed-turned-boat encounter enemy pirates, and a swordfight ensues. But the outnumbered pajama pirates manage to trick everyone by turning their mast into a pretend ghost. Some of the rhymes feel a bit forced and, as pirate stories go, this one's tone is incongruously sweet and gentle.—Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA

School Library Journal

Nighttime is the right time for adventurous children to sail the high seas in this sweet bedtime book. As the moon rises, three kids step aboard their trusty boat to search for treasure. Along the way they encounter some pirate scoundrels and win the day, only to return to their beds to continue their adventures in their dreams. Kramer's gentle text takes children to the edges of adventure then brings them home again. Alas, poor text layout in one spread means that some readers will have difficulty parsing where his rhymes are meant to fall. "Then through the fog, / a cannon blast rips the sail / and splits the mast," will be intuitive after a second reading, but it's not immediately clear. That said, Lammle's blue-infused watercolors compensate for this and more, providing her button-nosed buccaneers (and their dog) plenty of action followed by sweet victory. She also tips her hat to that other bedtime adventurer, Little Nemo, with full-faced moons and sleep-based adventures. A swell choice for small pirate adventurers ready to clash swords from the comfort of their own beds. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews