Review - Pirate Mom

Pirate Mom
by Deborah Underwood
illustrated by Stephen Gilpin
Date: 2006
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 48
Format: e-book
Source: library

Yo ho ho! Pete loves pirates, but his mom thinks they are rude and messy. Then Pete and his mom go to see the Amazing Marco, and Marco hypnotizes Pete’s mom into thinking she’s a pirate! Now Pete’s mom won’t behave. She chases the neighbors. She steals underwear off other people’s clotheslines. She’s even flying the Jolly Roger over the house. Pete has to find the Amazing Marco. He wants his real mom back!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This goofy little story is actually pretty funny. Pete is a kid who loves pirates, but his mom doesn't love them so much, so she never wants to play pirates with him. Instead, she takes him to see a magician, the Amazing Marco. During audience participation, the Amazing Marco hypnotizes Pete's mom into thinking she's a pirate. But then he gets called away for the impending birth of his child, leaving Pete to have to drag his pirate mom home. The hypnotism is supposed to wear off, but it doesn't, and Pete has to deal with a bellicose pirate who's always trying to steal people's loot. What's a boy to do?

I'm not surprised I enjoyed this one as much as I did, since I've liked some of Deborah Underwood's other books. The illustrations work well with the text, too, providing the perfect illustration of the silly pirate mom and her shenanigans.

The book ends with a bit of a twist that's somewhat predictable, but that kids will probably like. Overall, it's a strong book for early readers that'll have pirate lovers cracking a smile or two.

Quotable moment:

Pirate Mom stood in the yard.
She wore an eye patch
and a pirate head scarf.
Pete's parrot sat on her shoulder.
Pirate Mom swished
a wooden spoon at the mailman.
"Arrr!" said Pirate Mom.
"Arrr!" said the parrot.
"Arrrrrrgh!" said Pete.

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 4 out of 5