Over the Waves! Rufus Goes to Sea by Kim Griswell

RUFUS LEROY WILLIAMS LOVED GOING TO SCHOOL

But school is out for the summer. So Rufus turns to his other love--READING!

Rufus starts his summer reading with a book called Pirates, and suddenly he knows how he wants to spend his summer vacation! Rufus wants to be a pirate.

But first Rufus has to find a berth on a corsair's ship flying the skull and crossbones.

But when he approaches the first old sea dog he sees down at the dock, first mate Scratchwhiskers, he gets a cold reception. And the peg-legged captain can't see any purpose in signing on a pig as a pirate.

"NO PIGS ON PIRATE SHIPS!" BELLOWED CAPTAIN WIBBLYSHINS.

"PIGS PLAY ON POOP DECKS! THEY PICNIC FROM THE CROW'S NESTS.

AND THEY WIPE THEIR CHINS ON THE JOLLY ROGER!"

It seems that there's plenty of prejudice against pigs among pirates. But Rufus is a plucky and notably persistent pirate-wannabe pig, so he tries getting into the appropriate pirate gear, appearing in an eye patch, in a proper pirate's hat, and with a mop and bucket to swab the decks. Cap'n Wibblyshins is unimpressed, declaring the pirate he needs has to have special skills.

Rufus Leroy Williams reaches into his sea bag and haul out his book.

"I HAVE THIS!" HE SAID.

Suddenly the old Captain's beady eyes brighten.

"YOU CAN READ? WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO!"

It's seems there's a paucity of literacy aboard Wibblyshin's ship, and Rufus Leroy Williams is named their Reading Pig and tasked with reading the crew all of their treasure maps. Anchors aweigh! It's time to hoist sail, to "Avast, all ye hardies!" and have some serious treasure-hunting on the bounding main. Rufus has his summer adventure, and with his map-reading, the buccaneers have a successful voyage with plenty of treasure trunks to dig up on the beach of their own Treasure Island.

X doesn't mark the spot for a booty of golden doubloons in Kim Griswell's latest, Rufus Goes to Sea (Sterling, 2015), but with the help of skillful visual foreshadowing by artist Valeri Gorbachev, young readers won't be totally surprised when the mariners discover something even better in their excavated treasure troves. Gorbachev, the best American illustrator with a Soviet dictator for a father, offers comic artwork which keeps the giggles coming, and Griswell's Rufus is just as plucky and endearing a pig as he was in his first outing, Rufus Goes to School. (See my 2013 review here.)

". . . a marvelous paean to the joy and power of reading," says School Library Journal.

Never Say Die! The Skeleton Pirate by David Lucas

THE SKELETON PIRATE WAS THE TERROR OF THE SEAS.

"I'LL NEVER BE BEATEN!" HE SAID.

Notwithstanding the tough talk from The Terror of the Seas, this pirate is having a bad day.  His timbers apparently already shivered, afloat on what looks like a hatch of his seemingly sunken ship, and down to nothing but his pirate hat, pantaloons, and a sword, the still pugnacious pirate sees things go from bad to terrible when  a fully-manned man-of-war pulls into view. The crew outmans him,  locks him in chains, and tosses him into the briny deep, still full of defiance.

"I'LL NEVER BE BEATEN!"  (GLUB GLUB)

Curses! As the Skeleton Pirate settles to the bottom of the sea, he finally gets a break!  Along swims a lovely mermaid who has just the right stuff--a skeleton key!  But his luck is short-lived.  Just as the mermaid unlocks his chains, the Skeleton Pirate and the mermaid are both swallowed by a bottom-feeding whale.

"WE'RE NOT BEATEN YET!" said the Skeleton Pirate, brandishing his sword.

The mermaid suggests they reconnoiter before any swordplay is involved and they notice that the whale's tummy is very full--full mostly with tons of booty and a loaded treasure ship to boot.     That can't be comfortable, the mermaid thinks.  Maybe....

A convenient sign points the way to the leviathan's EAR, and the Skeleton Pirate and the mermaid prepare to negotiate a good outcome  to their dilemma.

"YOU ATE US!" SAID THE SKELETON PIRATE.

"DID YOU KNOW YOU ARE FULL OF GOLD AND TREASURE?"

"NO WONDER I FEEL SO ILL!" SAID THE WHALE. 

At this point giggling readers will guess that the Skeleton Pirate and the mermaid are going to come out on top(side) in David Lucas' rollicking new corsair story, The Skeleton Pirate (Candlewick, 2013). Lucas' funny illustrations take the lead  as the two get their just desserts and sail away in their treasure ship, heading for Cape Happy-Ever-After.  David Lucas' buoyant text and comic watercolors bounce along over the waves in a satisfying little tale for pirate aficionados.  As Kirkus Reviews reports, "Lucas' over-the-top yarn and loopy larger-than-life ink-and-watercolor cartoon illustrations wink at readers while producing one clever surprise after another. Exhilarating pirate fare!"

Hang High the Holly: A Pirate's Twelve Days of Christmas by Philip Yates

'TWAS ON THE EVE OF YULETIDE

WHERE A SHIP SAILED THROUGH THE NIGHT.
ACROSS THE DARK AND BRINY DEEP
BENEATH THE STARS SO BRIGHT.

"AHOY, ME MATES!" THE CAP'N ROARED.
"'TIS TIME TO PLUNDER WRECKS--
EXCEPT FER YE, ME CABIN BOY--
YE'LL STAY AND SWAB THE DECKS."

The long-suffering cabin boy of the pirate ship Black Sark can't seem to catch a Christmas break. It's almost Yuletide, time for jolly ol' Sir Peggedy's annual visit, and all Cap'n has to say is "ARRGH! HUMBUG!"

But when our favorite swabby awakes the next morning, there's a surprise that brings a strangely familiar song to his lips, for on deck he finds

A PARROT IN A PALM TREE!

And the gifting continues for the next eleven days. Each day amazing items appear--two cutlasses, three black cats, four cacklin' hens, five chests of gold. There are Jolly Rogers, dolphins swimmin', mermaids singin', sloops a-sailin', swallows a-swoopin', and finally twelve pirates cheerin'! The piratical crew confesses that they have provided all the items in their song as their YARRful Yule gifts. And anchors aweigh, but there's jolly ol' Sir Peggedy hisself landin' on deck fer the big celebration.

Avast, all ye yulelubbers! Even grizzled marauders love to make merry, and Philip Yate's newest, A Pirate's Twelve Days of Christmas (Sterling) 2012), counts the days down to Christmas in briny, brawny buccaneer style. With its vivid, swirling illustrations by Sebastian Serra and its "Pirate Glossary," appended, all those landlubbin' mateys and hearties can weigh anchor and sail off with a new buccaneer carol for the holiday season. A perfect script for a primary-grade holiday production, this parody of the old song also pairs well with Yates' best-selling A Pirate's Night Before Christmas. (See my review here.)

The Nose Knows: Pirate Princess by Sudipta Bardham

PRINCESS BEA WAS NOT THE KIND
OF PRINCESS YOU'D EXPECT.
SHE DIDN'T LIKE TO DRESS IN LACE
OR SILK, BROCADE, OR CHINTZ.

AND ESPECIALLY SHE COULDN'T FACE
A LIFE WED TO A PRINCE.

Nope, Princess Bea has a yen to sail the sea. So when she spots a buccaneer's barque tied up at the dock, she resolves to be a stowaway. Cap'n Jack, shanghais Bea for his crew, and sets her to work swabbing the deck. Alas, Bea's resume' doesn't seem to cover scrubbing skills, and when Jack gets his foot stuck in her mop bucket while the Princess is taking a breather, he's really mad. Threatening to throw her overboard if she doesn't get shipshape fast, he sends her below to be a galley slave. But cooking isn't in her job description either, and her sorry stew sends the crew back to hardtack. Finally Cap'n Jack sends her up the rigging to be a lookout in the crow's nest.

But it's easy for Bea to be queasy up there, and as lookout all Bea comes up with is her lunch.

THE CROW'S NEST SWAYED WITH EVERY GUST,
A GENTLE, ROCKING MOTION.
BEA CLUTCHED THE MAST, AND THEN SHE JUST--
HEAVE-HOED INTO THE OCEAN

.
And right into Cap'n Jack's hat! That's it. This wench is walking the plank!

Blindfolded, Bea is pushed onto the plank and begins the short long walk:

BEA DID AS SHE WAS TOLD.
SHE STOPPED...AND STOPPED...
AND SNIFFED THE AIR.
"I THINK I'M SMELLING... GOLD!"

It seems that the one thing princessy trait that Bea possesses is her nose for treasure, and that makes Princess Bea the #1 crew and the new queen of the deep, in Sudipta Bardhan-Quillen's latest rhyming adventure, Pirate Princess (Harper, 2012). With illustrator Jim McElmurrayon board as co-crew, this one takes to a pirating storytime as a corsair's ship takes to water.

Battle of the Sexes, Pirate-Style: Pirate Vs. Pirate by Mary Quattlebaum

BAD BART WAS THE BIGGEST, BURLIEST PIRATE THIS SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC.

BUT HE WANTED TO BE THE BIGGEST BURLIEST PIRATE IN THE WORLD--AND THE RICHEST!

Bart sets out on a world-spanning voyage to prove his mettle. And, as he finds out, there's only one thing standing in his way, the Pacific Ocean's mighty mistress, Mean Mo.

MEAN MO WAS THE MADDEST, MIGHTIEST PIRATE THIS SIDE OF THE PACIFIC.

THE EARTH BEING ROUND, THEY MET IN THE MIDDLE.

The two battling buccaneers challenge each other to a series of heroic contests: they swim miles with the sharks; they compete in a shotput match, using cannonballs; they arm-wrestle and mast-climb and even compete in an audit of their treasure troves. Their watching crews act as judges, and their decision--a TIE every time!

Then Mean Mo tries a feminine ploy. Instead of another insult, she offers him a gift from her cache of goodies. Not to be outdone, Bad Bart returns with an even bigger gift, and the pirate potlache is on!

SUCH A FRENZY OF SHARING!

"TIE!' RULE THE CREWS.

But then Cupid takes charge of the contest.

"BAD BART, YE BE A JEWEL OF A MAN!" SAYS MO.

"AND YE BE BRIGHTER THAN GOLD, ME BEAUTY!" SAYS BART WITH A GALLANT BOW.

Love conquers all as a pirate nuptial pact is struck in Mary Quattlebaum's new buccaneer tale, Pirate vs. Pirate: The Terrific Tale of a Big, Blustery Maritime Match (Hyperion, 2011. This war-and-peace pirate tale, illustrated comically by Alexandra Boiger's colorful cartoons, is another swashbuckling saga sure to find anchorage on the pirate shelf.