Pirates vs. Cowboys

K-Gr 2—This tale of swashbucklers looking for a place to store their booty while a band of sharpshooters attempts to defend their one-horse town is really about a little miscommunication and the need for a nice hot bath. Unfortunately for Burnt Beard the octopus pirate and Black Bob the bull cowboy, they can't understand each other's colorful language. The author cleverly convinces the audience to sympathize with both sides, as it is unlikely that many children will be able to understand either the pirate idioms or the cowboy slang. When the misunderstandings result in a showdown, a croc named Pegleg Highnoon arrives to save the day. Being fluent in both pirate and cowboy comes in handy for diffusing the situation, but Pegleg's mediation efforts are trumped by the stench of both parties. After seeing that their smelliness is something they have in common, they reconvene after bathing for some grog at the local saloon. Readers will enjoy the comical illustrations and amusing resolution if they can get past the complicated vocabulary and suspend their disbelief about an octopus trying to hide his treasure in the desert.—Jenna Boles, Washington-Centerville Public Library, OH