My Granny Is a Pirate - Softcover

McDermid, Val

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1408309270 ISBN 13: 9781408309278

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, 2012

Synopsis

My granny is a pirate!
She's 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 her fiercesome pirate 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.

About this title

About the Author:

Val McDermid is the author of 22 bestselling novels, which have been translated into 30 languages, and have sold over 10 million copies. She has won many awards internationally, including the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year and the LA Times Book of the Year Award. She was inducted into the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame in 2009. My Granny Is a Pirate is Val's first children's book. Val divides her time between Manchester and Alnmouth.

Arthur Robins is known and loved the world over for his witty and lively picture books and cartoons. He has illustrated numerous and much-loved books for Orchard, including the ever-popular Seriously Silly series, written by Laurence Anholt, and the picture book series featuring Small Knight and George which was written by Ronda Armitage. Arthur lives in Surrey, near his two grown-up daughters.

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: 1408309270
• ISBN 13: 9781408309278
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Robbins Arthur