Captain Jack and the Pirates

Starred review from January 1, 2016
Jack, Zack, and Caspar (King Jack and the Dragon, 2011) are back in an adventure by the seaside, complete with stormy waters...and pirates! Bently's rhyming narrative could be sung as a sea chantey. Pre-kindergarteners pink-cheeked Jack and brown-skinned Zack build "a galleon down by the sea" assisted by diaper-clad and towheaded Caspar, pacifier firmly clenched in his mouth. Their sand construction sports mast and boom, sand-bucket cannons, and a teddy-bear cabin boy. Oxenbury's artwork, in a mix of full-bleed color illustrations and monochrome sketches, shows the boys hard at work on their ship. The blending of the real day at the seaside and the fanciful voyage on the high seas is beautifully done. Sun and warm sand give way to a steely gray ocean, with whitecaps and a pirate ship in the distance as the young buccaneers ("hungry for glory and enemy booty") set out. The imaginary, scowling, sword-wielding grown-up pirates in the approaching square-rigger are comical yet ferocious enough to cause delighted shivers. The voyage ends as a brief cloudburst clears away the beachgoers, but the boys find plenty of fine booty, including ice-cream cones, offered by a pair of friendly pirates who look like Mum and Dad. The trek between the beach and the car documented on the endpapers sweetly bookends the excitement. A clear, large font and generous trim size invite the young audience in. Gently and agreeably thrilling. (Picture book. 3-6)

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January 1, 2016

PreS-K-The gifted Bently and Oxenbury team up again to take their characters from King Jack and the Dragon (Dial, 2011) on a pirate adventure. Jack, Zach, and Casper (three very little children, one with a pacifier) and their teddy bear play on an idyllic beach, where their sand-castling becomes an imaginary adventure on the high seas. A busy day includes a terrifying storm, a shipwreck, and a run-in with pirates and ends with a warm bath and some ice cream. There are other pirate stories that highlight imaginative play, and Bently covers no new ground here, but his treatment features expertly phrased rhyming couplets that take readers step-by-step into the characters' creative process and are paired perfectly with Oxenbury's romantic washed watercolors and pencil sketches. Perfect for a lap-sit, where a child has plenty of time to search for details, identify with the characters, and fall into the rhythm of the story, but useful, too, in a small group, where readers can predict the end to each rhyming verse. VERDICT A grand adventure and a solid addition to most picture book collections.-Lisa Lehmuller, Paul Cuffee Maritime Charter School, Providence, RI

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