Review by Booklist Review
PreS-K. In a rhyming story, a little boy named Tom lies in his bed as shadows form in the moonlight outside his window. He doesn't know what to make of them and fears the worst until he discovers that he's being recruited by girl pirates. Tom joins the crew and off they sail in their house/ship to an island, scaring off a band of grown-up pirates before making a quick voyage home. The simple, rhythmic story is enhanced by Allwright's exuberant illustrations. Working in a combination of paint and collage, she sets her cartoonish characters jauntily against the striking blue backgrounds of a night sky. Children will delight in her use of unusual angles and the sheer energy of each double-page spread. Young fashionistas, for instance, will be amused by the extravagant hat worn by the captain of the girl pirates. A sure bet for bedtime, but suggest this for daytime sharing, too. --Todd Morning Copyright 2006 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Under cover of night, a band of "rough, tough little girl pirates" creep in shadow along a moonlit dock and sail away with a redheaded boy named Tom-and the facade of his house, which they use to disguise their ship (never mind that a sailing house is pretty conspicuous). Harris makes smart use of repetition and the book's interactive format to create suspense as Tom and the pirates sail off to an island where they relieve Captain Patch and his sleepy swash-bucklers of their treasure. Armed with cutlasses, bandannas, and eye patches, Allwright's pint-size buccaneers exude energy and mischief. The book's cheeky ending-when the pirates return the front of Tom's house to its original location, lifting a flap reveals that they forgot a critical detail-provides a witty conclusion to this sneaky nighttime adventure. Ages 3-7. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-A group of rough, tough girl pirates sneaks over to Tom's house to steal the front of his house to disguise their ship. When Tom hears them, he asks to join them, and they agree. Then it's off to steal a treasure that belongs to adult pirates, and they are so befuddled by the ship's house front that they give it up easily. This leads to victory and a good night's sleep for Tom. Harris's soothing text has a storyteller's rhythm built in. The rhyming couplets are interspersed with questions that lead to the next section of the tale, clarifying and expanding it. The text is written in a rolling font that adds to the movement of the pirate ship. Allwright's illustrations are moody and midnight-colored with some collages added in. Their texture, made of maps and graph paper among other items, adds to the mystery of the adventures. The story's touch of the ridiculous will appeal to young listeners, especially surrounding the adult pirates. This tale would be terrific at a pajama storytime, and its pirate theme will satisfy many young girls and boys.-Susan E. Murray, Glendale Public Library, AZ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
When a band of little girl pirates steal the fatade of Tom's house to disguise their ship, he joins their crew. They set sail and dupe grown-up pirates of their treasure. Rhythmic text, presented playfully across the pages, jauntily mimics the story's flow and combines with the whimsical blue-dominated illustrations to make this a magical and silly dreamtime adventure. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Large pop-ups and multilayered tableaux gas up an already effervescent tale of pirate adventure from 2006. Young Tom wakes (maybe) to see shadowy figures stealing the entire front from his house. He finds himself joining a crew of "rough, tough little girl pirates" scheming to disguise their ship and steal treasure from Capt. Patch and his grown-up buccaneers. Swinging from hammocks strung from pop-up palm trees, Patch's scurvy crew turns out to be pushovers when the invaders--brandishing sabers and fiercely buckling swash beneath oversized pirate hats--leap from door and window with a "fearsome roar!" as the climactic spread opens. Tom and the girls then sail off in triumph to hoist both wall and weary boy back into place (more or less, as a final flap reveals). Printed in a range of sizes, the narrative's type looks thrown into each scene at random, but the text is actually both easy to follow and artfully placed to enhance the melodrama of this rousing moonlit expedition. Avast! No treasure is safe from these diminutive daredevils of the deep. (Pop-up/picture book. 3-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
