My Granny Is a Pirate - Hardcover

McDermid, Val

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1408309262 ISBN 13: 9781408309261

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, 2012

Synopsis

Hugely successful, internationally bestselling and multi-award-winning author Val McDermid writes her first picture book for children.My granny was a pirate! She sailed the seven seas. She captured many pirate ships But was always home for tea. When a family secret about Granny is revealed, we discover all about Pirate Granny's fiercesome reputation and her swashbuckling ways - from making other rogueish pirates walk the plank to singing sea shanties to her dog Jolly Roger. Look again at your granny...could she be a pirate too? A must-have book for all pirate fans. A true tale of adventure upon the high seas - a perfect book for boys Val McDermid has sold over ten million books and has a wide international fan base Arthur Robins's brilliant and hilarious illustrations match the vibrant verse perfectly

About this title

About the Author

Val McDermid is the author of 22 bestselling novels, which have been translated into 30 languages. They include Fever of the Bone and A Place of Execution, and her Tony Hill books are the basis for the television series Wire in the Blood. She has won such awards as the CWA Gold Dagger, the L.A. Times Book of the Year, and the Lambda Literary Awards Pioneer Award. This is her first children's book. Arthur Robins has illustrated numerous children's books, including What's Happening to Me? and Where Did I Come From?

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-After swearing readers to secrecy, the narrator of this slight offering reveals his family secret. In uneven verse, he tells of his grandmother's cabin-girl origins, and how her fierce reputation grew until "every other pirate feared/she'd capture their ship too." Granny's typical piratical habits are detailed-making the crew swab the decks, walk the planks, etc. Then things get confusing, as the woman rows for shore, changes into her granny clothes in a dark cavern, and follows a secret passageway to a ruined castle. There, she runs into a band of marauding skeletons that are after her gold. Fortunately, she beats them into dust with her handbag, and the story ends happily. Several flaws combine to sink this book. The verse doesn't scan in some places, which makes the text read awkwardly. Additionally, there are verb inconsistencies that lead to confusion about the sequence of events. Finally, the muddy cartoon illustrations do little to enhance the lackluster text. There are several richer choices in the piratical picture-book world, including Melinda Long's How I Became a Pirate (2003) and Mem Fox's Tough Boris (1994, both Harcourt).-Rachael Vilmar, Eastern Shore Regional Library, Salisbury, MDα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1408309262
• ISBN 13: 9781408309261
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32