Are Pirates Polite?

September 19, 2016
In an uneven send-up of pirates’ manners, Catrow’s (Fun in the Sun) boisterous mixed-media illustrations spotlight a bumbling pirate crew demonstrating respectful and unacceptable behavior alike, though they tend to blur together. At times, the action in the images takes some work to decode, or doesn’t quite match up with the verse; in one scene, the pirate captain sobs while building a model pirate ship (his parrot has apparently stolen his miniature flag) as three mateys look on (“pirates never interrupt/ when another pirate’s talking”). Demas and Roehrig, the mother-daughter team behind the recent Does a Fiddler Crab Fiddle?, establish a playful, singsong rhythm as they jump between bad behavior and good, but several rhymes require linguistic somersaults to come together (“While pirates are in battle,/ to push ahead is fine./ But when it’s time to board the boat,/ pirates wait in line”). Even so, Catrow’s caricatures will keep many readers giggling as these scallywags try—more or less—to mind their manners. Ages 3–5. Author’s agent: Mitchell Waters, Curtis Brown. Illustrator’s agent: Brian Keliher, Keliher Literary Management.

Mutinous manners and piratical politeness are the name of the game in this swashbuckling story. It might surprise readers to hear that pirates are the positive pinnacle of politeness, but it's true! Twelve mannerly qualities are listed, with these mostly white pirates making the grade. As the book says from the start, "Pirates are unruly and pirates love to fight, / but pirates still say 'please' and 'thanks' 'cause pirates are polite." And here's the captain merrily handing over a crewmate's molar after a scuffle. Other guidelines are checked off the list as well, including chewing with one's mouth shut (particularly if it's someone else's food), always saying "thank you" (even when stealing booty), and using one's inside voice (in the hold). Catrow lends his considerable talents to the tale, yet the result is strangely disjointed, leaving readers unsure if the book is serious or sarcastic. For example, readers are told not to barge into private situations, so the pirates leave the captain alone during his bubble bath, which seems literal enough. Yet earlier in the book, the verse on sharing is depicted with a lone pirate marooned with only a single coin from the latest haul--that's sharing? Mind you, not all young pirate lovers will note these discrepancies. If it's grotesque pirate misadventures they seek, this book delivers in spades. As a manners book, hide your doubloons. But as a pirate book, it's yo-ho-ho and away you go! (Picture book. 3-6) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.