Pirates Don't Go to School!

When Jake wants to go to school, his pirate family are horrified and fill his head with thoughts of rotten rules and ten-legged teachers. As far as they believe, pirates don't go to school. But Jake is not to be deterred and convinces his family , through a very traditional pirate method, that he should be sent to school. Alan MacDonald has created a fun tale for young 'pirates' who may well be starting school soon. This story will be a great addition to a home library in preparation for the new school year in September and I will be planning to use it myself with my nearly 4 year old....the added bonus of a pirate theme will certainly help with engagement in the book. It seems unusual for a text aimed at a young audience not to follow the normal rhyming couplet format for a picture book. Despite this, the text flows from page to page when reading aloud. Of course, with this being a pirate themed book, it is only right that a pirate voice is used when reading to an audience. This is made easier through Alan's word and sentence choices and he has managed to create a clear distinction between characters based on the language they use when speaking. Magda Brol's illustrations tie in perfectly with the feel of the book and age of the target audience. They are clear, colourful and allow for lots of inference based questioning Overall, a feel good and funny tale that children will enjoy and parents will appreciate when the new school year rolls around. Picture book / Ages 3+ / Reviewed by Kyle Matravers, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 3+