Pirate Baby

by Mary Hoffman, Ros Asquith (Illustrator)

Overview

"Shiver me timbers," said the Captain. "It's a baby!"

When the crew of pirate ship Ramshackle find a tiny baby adrift on the high seas, they are a bit flummoxed. Even more so, when they discover it's a baby girl.

The adventures that follow in this rollicking tale are full of laughter and surprises, as the pirates sew nappies, make baby clothes out of pirate shirts and even a toy squid out of pirate gloves for the new arrival. The pirates won't give up their baby – not even to the women pirates who pass close by. And when a huge sea monster appears, it's baby Isla who saves the day, to become a true Pirate Baby.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781910959954
Publisher:	Otter-Barry Books
Publication date:	10/01/2017
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	4 Years

About the Author

Mary Hoffman is one of Britain’s best-known and best-selling children’s writers, with over ninety books to her credit, including the famous Amazing Grace series, now celebrating its 25 anniversary. Mary is esteemed as a writer who looks beyond traditional boundaries to give children both inspiration and aspiration.

Ros Asquith is a world-famous illustrator and cartoonist, as well as being a writer and poet. She has been a Guardian cartoonist for 20 years and has written and illustrated over 60 books for young people including the bestselling Teenage Worrier series. She really likes pirates, babies and monsters, so illustrating this story has been fun all the way.

Editorial Reviews

2017-08-27
Six buccaneers and a baby. When the salty sea dogs of the Ramshackle spot a makeshift raft sporting an audible and pungent infant, they are aghast. All the more so when they realize that they must find effective ways of feeding and changing the squalling tyke. Yet with a little ingenuity and a goat to give milk, the scalawags are soon enamored of the baby they dub Isla. Good thing too, as an encounter with a scary sea monster proves to be the battleground where a baby pirate can show her true worth. The pirates are a multicultural, softhearted crew, while Isla herself is a brown-skinned charmer. Utilizing a faux naif combination of watercolors and Photoshop, the art is high-energy if a bit slapdash when it comes to matters of scale and size. Alas, the pirates themselves could use a bit of personality, and a brief glimpse of a nearby ship of women pirates may leave readers wishing they could set sail with those wild ladies of the sea instead of this crew. Be sure to look for a number of Briticisms that survived this import's trip across the ocean intact (example: the baby's "nappy" emits a strong "pong") as well as some inspired pirate names (there are "Plunderpuss" the cat, "Crossbones" the doctor, "McSquawk" the parrot, and so on). A bonny but uneven bit o' tale telling. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews