Twenty-six Pirates: An Alphabet Book

PreS-Gr 1—Despite appealingly piratical illustrations, this swashbuckling title is thin on story and unsuccessful as an alphabet book. Each letter is represented by a boy's name, followed by a rhyming statement about him. It begins, "Pirate Arty. First to the party" and ends with, "Pirate Zach. The final attack." While the concept is clever enough, the names are written in a medieval-style type, preventing easy recognition by youngsters learning their letters. Additionally, the name choices are not always effective at presenting the appropriate sounds. The most problematic is the letter "J," Pirate Juan, which does not make the English "j" sound. The humorous collage illustrations are grotesquely cartoonish, slightly reminiscent of the work of David Shannon or Victoria Chess. The multicultural boys have huge, blocklike teeth, oversize heads, semicircle noses, and googly eyes. Busily doing everything from eating, to swimming, to walking the plank, they are joined on every page by bug-eyed frogs that add to the humor and tie the story together. The art will likely be a big hit with pirate fans everywhere, and a few sophisticated asides will appeal to parents, but those hoping for a plot or in search of books for an alphabet bin will need to look elsewhere.—Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT