The Pirate Jamboree

The Pirate Jamboree by Mark Teague. Orchard Books, 2013. 32 pages.

• Reading Level: Picture Books, ages 4-8
• Recommended for: Ages 0-8

Bottom Line: The neighborhood kids are sailing together for a pirate jamboree in this rollicking picture book.

Neighbors Eye Patch Sue, Sharktooth Jane, and Cap’n Gunderboom along with the Johnson Brothers (Bluebeard, Blackbeard, and Beigebeard) are all sailing towards Peg Leg Jones’s ship for a Pirate Jamboree in their inventive, creative pirate vessels. But when dramatic entrances get bungled, lampshades, toy cars, and even underwear go flying. Suddenly, The dreaded Mrs. Jones, in her black-sailed ship of doom! Ship of terror! Ship of bones! It’s the S.S. CLEAN YOUR ROOM! Once ordered to clean his room, Peg Leg Jones bids his fellow pirates farewell as they all abandon ship for their own quiet ports.

Teague’s boisterous illustrations and rollicking, rhyming text keep this story hopping. Young pirate fans will enjoy seeing these diverse neighborhood kids fully immerse themselves in their pirate jamboree make believe. This is a fun book to check out from the library for a summer afternoon. Some parents may wish to temper the stand off between Mrs. Jones and her son, but the tenor of the book is very much in keeping with childlike make believe. In the end, those rascally pirates are brushing their teeth and climbing into their warm beds on shore.

Cautions: none

Overall Rating: 3.5

• Worldview Rating: 3.5
• Artistic Rating: 3.5

Categories: Picture Books, Boys

For a quieter picture book with much the same storyline, see Captain Jack and the Pirates.