©2006 Kyle M. Stone
Client: Harcourt
Medium: Acrylic & Mixed Media on Paper
Size: various sizes
Use: Children Book

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2—In well-fashioned rhyming text, a little boy takes readers through a day onboard his father's ship, listing all of the reasons he loves his pirate-captain dad: "I love my pirate papa!/He's the bravest buccaneer./He helps me put my earring on/and buckles up my gear." After a day full of adventures together, the man tucks his son into his bunk, reads him a book about Captain Hook, and kisses him goodnight saying: "I spent my life a-plundering./My treasures bring me joy./But there's nothing I prize more than you,/my dearest pirate boy." Bright, jewel-toned acrylic and mixed-media cartoon illustrations add to the fun, drawing children into the main elements of a pirate's life—ferocious crew, skull-and-crossbones flag, desert island, etc.—but also offering interesting humorous details sprinkled throughout the pages, such as the skinny mice in almost every scene who participate in the action. The father sports an eye patch, tricorne, and unbelievably long mustache, all authentic but somehow managing not to look too scary. Both front and back endpapers display a pirate treasure map. Given the fascination children have for the topic and the relative scarcity of easy pirate books, this tale will surely be met with delight by the youngest buccaneers.—Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Reviews
Picture-book pirates are in plentiful supply, but it's still likely that plenty of landlubbers will enjoy listening to this loving description of a buccaneer dad. The narrator looks a bit like David Shannon's David, with beady black eyes, a round belly and angular limbs. In rollicking rhyme, he enumerates the joys of living aboard ship. His father, the pirate captain, helps him to get dressed, teaches him to read (from a treasure map, naturally), allows him to help recover the buried treasure and tucks him tenderly into bed at night. Stone's dark-toned illustrations, created in acrylic and mixed-media, feature exaggerated details to humorous effect (the father's shoulder-wide moustache is a particular favorite). A small mouse appears in several pictures, giving young listeners another reason to scan them carefully. Whether listeners will choose to spend more than one day in the company of this particular crew or quickly move on to a different adventure is open to argument. In the short run, however, this should definitely please book-thirsty young treasure seekers. (Picture book. 3-6)