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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
A fun book about a boring little village with strict rules and what happens when pirates drop their anchors and decide to live there for a little while.
I really liked our main character. A little girl, but with a big love for adventure and for fun. She doesn't mind the pirates (and is the only one in the whole village), she finds them fun, especially their son who is her age. I wish we could have seen some more illustrations of the the two kids bonding and forging a friendship, maybe even adventuring. I would also have liked to see some more of the Pirate family. While we did see some thing, mostly it was about the fact that the pirates were disturbing people. People wanted them gone.
And that was why the book was at times a bit boring. The constant: "Oh noooesss, pirates, we have to get rid of them." shtick just got bleh. I wish people could have seen that they weren't that bad. That they didn't intend to do much harm (not to humans at least).
The last few pages were a disappointment, especially with the clichéd reaction of the adults when stuff happens. It doesn't really show a good message to kids. Like, Oh hey, you can be bad, but you can bribe people to like you. I know, I know it is a kids book, but generally kids books have messages and generally they tend to be all goody-two-shoes kind of messages. Not the other way around.
I do hope we will have more books about this pirate family. I love how they brought their ship with them (like one would bring a speed boat or a smaller boat).
The illustrations were gorgeous and I loved that instead of one big picture, or 2 big pictures, we had several pictures forming a story. We even have a fold-out part which is pretty gorgeous.
Would I recommend the book? Yes, even with its faults it was a good and interesting book and I had fun reading it.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I really liked our main character. A little girl, but with a big love for adventure and for fun. She doesn't mind the pirates (and is the only one in the whole village), she finds them fun, especially their son who is her age. I wish we could have seen some more illustrations of the the two kids bonding and forging a friendship, maybe even adventuring. I would also have liked to see some more of the Pirate family. While we did see some thing, mostly it was about the fact that the pirates were disturbing people. People wanted them gone.
And that was why the book was at times a bit boring. The constant: "Oh noooesss, pirates, we have to get rid of them." shtick just got bleh. I wish people could have seen that they weren't that bad. That they didn't intend to do much harm (not to humans at least).
The last few pages were a disappointment, especially with the clichéd reaction of the adults when stuff happens. It doesn't really show a good message to kids. Like, Oh hey, you can be bad, but you can bribe people to like you. I know, I know it is a kids book, but generally kids books have messages and generally they tend to be all goody-two-shoes kind of messages. Not the other way around.
I do hope we will have more books about this pirate family. I love how they brought their ship with them (like one would bring a speed boat or a smaller boat).
The illustrations were gorgeous and I loved that instead of one big picture, or 2 big pictures, we had several pictures forming a story. We even have a fold-out part which is pretty gorgeous.
Would I recommend the book? Yes, even with its faults it was a good and interesting book and I had fun reading it.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I think this was a cute story and look forward to getting to the next picture books in this series. I'd recommend it to kids who like pirates.
This was the first of Jonny Duddle's pirate books that I read and is now one of my favorite pirate books to read my son. A family of Pirates, including a young boy, move into a small town temporarily and the boy befriends the little girl next door. She has no bias towards him and is excited about learning all of the unique and exotic things about him and his family. The rest of the neighbors are pretty awful and judgmental, all because the Jolley-Rogers are different. The Pirates leave behind gifts for everyone, in hopes that they will think more highly of their kind the next time they encounter them.
I am someone who very thoroughly believes in the importance of being oneself and celebrating the things that make you who you are, especially if you are different or weird. So this book struck a chord with me. I really enjoyed how it portrayed the characters, making it clear that Tilda, the girl, was the one with an appropriate attitude and that the other neighbors were shallow and jumping to poor conclusions, but in a way that is still enjoyable to read. I think it's a great "teaching" book.
The art is just fantastic and springs from the page. The colors and details are wonderful. There is also a foldout section towards the end that adds a nice touch to the enjoyment of the story.
This is written in rhyme and the flow and rhythm is so much fun to read aloud. There is a lot of great "pirate speak" and the voices of all of the characters are a joy to ham up to kids. This and The Pirate Cruncher are new favorites that I know will be getting a lot of attention at bedtime.
I am someone who very thoroughly believes in the importance of being oneself and celebrating the things that make you who you are, especially if you are different or weird. So this book struck a chord with me. I really enjoyed how it portrayed the characters, making it clear that Tilda, the girl, was the one with an appropriate attitude and that the other neighbors were shallow and jumping to poor conclusions, but in a way that is still enjoyable to read. I think it's a great "teaching" book.
The art is just fantastic and springs from the page. The colors and details are wonderful. There is also a foldout section towards the end that adds a nice touch to the enjoyment of the story.
This is written in rhyme and the flow and rhythm is so much fun to read aloud. There is a lot of great "pirate speak" and the voices of all of the characters are a joy to ham up to kids. This and The Pirate Cruncher are new favorites that I know will be getting a lot of attention at bedtime.
Tilda, a young girl, wants a playmate and some excitement in her sleepy little seaside town. The Jolly Rodger's pirate family with ship, canons, and all move in next-door. But wait this is a small-town with a bit closed minded folk, who aren't quite sure they want pirate neighbors. After all, the boy doesn't where shoes to school, father has black teeth and nails, the ship is blocking Mr. Shore's sunlight ... and the list goes on with each gossipy tale getting bigger and bigger by the townsfolk. None of this gossip bothers the pirate family, as they are used to this behavior, and leave a little surprise for each townsfolk. The townsfolk realize maybe they were too harsh. Tilda throughout the story is having fun playing with the pirate boy and in the end gets to go an a real sea adventure.
The best part of this book are the bright bold-colored illustrations, each page is rich with detail. The illustrations depict the crazy accusations from the townsfolk. I also enjoyed seeing how Tilda and the pirate boy were playing and getting along whether it be playing telephone on the pirate ship, biking, to playing pirates. The author did an amazing job in depicting each towns-person according to their particular complaint from the gossipy Mrs. Bumble in her yellow coat with her little pinky up while sipping tea to the two Miss Yates at eighty-eight being dressed identical and looking a little scattered brain as one of them pets a rat.
The story is in rhyme which gave a nice zing to the story. The meter did falter at times. This book confused me in the beginning as I thought it was about Tilda wanting an adventure, when it really turned out to be a book about the townsfolk perceptions about the pirate family. I liked that the pirate family was so confident in who they were and were able to teach the town a lesson.
A jolly good read.
NOTE ADDED 10/16/12: This book was nominated by Gill Robins for the 2012 Cybils Awards in the Fiction Picture Book category. I am a second-round judge in this category, but this review reflects my opinions only, not those of any other panelist, or the panel as a whole. Thanks!
The best part of this book are the bright bold-colored illustrations, each page is rich with detail. The illustrations depict the crazy accusations from the townsfolk. I also enjoyed seeing how Tilda and the pirate boy were playing and getting along whether it be playing telephone on the pirate ship, biking, to playing pirates. The author did an amazing job in depicting each towns-person according to their particular complaint from the gossipy Mrs. Bumble in her yellow coat with her little pinky up while sipping tea to the two Miss Yates at eighty-eight being dressed identical and looking a little scattered brain as one of them pets a rat.
The story is in rhyme which gave a nice zing to the story. The meter did falter at times. This book confused me in the beginning as I thought it was about Tilda wanting an adventure, when it really turned out to be a book about the townsfolk perceptions about the pirate family. I liked that the pirate family was so confident in who they were and were able to teach the town a lesson.
A jolly good read.
NOTE ADDED 10/16/12: This book was nominated by Gill Robins for the 2012 Cybils Awards in the Fiction Picture Book category. I am a second-round judge in this category, but this review reflects my opinions only, not those of any other panelist, or the panel as a whole. Thanks!
Gorgeous, fun illustrations. Perfect rhythm and length. And the added bonus of an important message about acceptance and differences done in that awesome way where kids won't even notice they're being taught.
Grades 1-3: Pirate fans will enjoy this story of Matilda, who lives in a small town where nothing exciting ever happens... at least not until the Jolley-Rogers family moves in next door. Suddenly, life is full of adventure, thanks largely to Jim Lad, who sports no shoes and an eye patch, and is accompanied by a wooden-legged dog. The grown-ups in town are not so keen on the new neighbors: they dress funny, they smell bad, and they don't even try to keep their front yard looking neat. Before the town council can take action, though, the Jolley-Rogers' ship has sailed off in search of more adventure, and they've left behind enough treasure for the townsfolks that the grown-ups suddenly realize how much they liked the pirate family after all. Children will realize how hypocritical the non-pirate adults in the story are, but their main focus will be on all the cool piratey details in the digitally-rendered illustrations and on the jaunty (if sometimes clumsy) rhythmic text.
Oh this is a rollicking, inspiring, hilarious pirate-filled tale and the parents in the house love it more than the toddler!! It's brilliant and everyone should read this, whether you have kids or not.
We loved the positive message of The Pirates Next Door. The illustrations are fantastic and so much fun. A great picture book for young kids and parents will appreciate the humour too! Read my full review here.