How to Be a Pirate

by Isaac Fitzgerald, Brigette Barrager (Illustrator)

Overview

A National Bestseller!

"A beautiful, generous, fun collaboration of story and illustration and pirate tattoos. Seriously wise pirate advice for everyone." - Jon Scieszka, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

CeCe dreams of being a pirate. When the neighborhood boys tell her that she can't, she wonders where to begin. Luckily, she suspects her grandpa must know something about being a pirate—why else would he have all those tattoos?

As he shares each tattoo, Grandpa and CeCe are transported from adventure to adventure, and CeCe discovers that there are all kinds of ways to be a pirate—Be BRAVE! Be QUICK! Be INDEPENDENT! And FUN!—and most of all, whether you're a pirate or not, the most important thing you can do is to BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.

This heartwarming and imaginative story from Isaac Fitzgerald and bestselling illustrator Brigette Barrager is a vibrant, joyful expression of what it means to be all kinds of wonderful things . . . including a pirate.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681197784
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	03/03/2020
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	63,579
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Isaac Fitzgerald has been a firefighter, worked on a boat, and was once given a sword by a king, thereby accomplishing three out of five of his childhood goals. After making a bunch of cool things for the internet, he now writes books and lives in Brooklyn, New York.
www.isaacfitzgerald.net
@IsaacFitzgerald (Twitter)
@isaac.fitzgerald (Instagram)

Brigette Barrager is an award-winning artist, character designer, illustrator and writer of children’s books, best known for illustrating the bestselling Uni the Unicorn by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Brigette earned a degree in character animation from the California Institute of the Arts, where she now teaches. She lives and works in Los Angeles with her handsome husband, a grumpy little dog, and two rascally gray kitties.
www.brigetteb.com
@missbrigette (Instagram)

Editorial Reviews

12/02/2019

The boys won’t let CeCe play pirate, so she runs to her seafaring grandfather to get the lowdown on what it takes to yo-ho-ho. Using his tattoos as visual aids, Grandpa describes all the qualities a great pirate must possess. On one muscular arm is inked a majestic ship; a pirate must be “BRAVE!” he says, and CeCe imagines the cozy kitchen, rendered in muted tones, as a prow barreling through spiral-scrolled, fish-festooned waves. A tattoo of a panther illustrates a pirate’s need for speed; CeCe imagines swinging on a jungle vine, “ready to react to danger at any moment.” But most important, Grandpa says, is having the confidence that comes from being loved—and he has the heart-shaped tattoo inscribed with “CeCe” to prove it. Fitzgerald (Pen & Ink for adults) and Barrager (Vlad the Rad) hit their closing self-esteem message a little bluntly at the end (“I’m brave! I’m quick! I’m independent, and I’m fun!” CeCe shouts), and the inclusion of a winking Spanish dancer tattoo as emblematic of “fun” strikes an odd note, but the pages are filled with bright colors, soaring spirits, and a timely feminist message. Ages 3–6. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

How to Be a Pirate is fabulous! Surprising, funny, and just lovely.” —Jacqueline Woodson, bestselling and award-winning author of THE DAY YOU BEGIN and BROWN GIRL DREAMING

“A beautiful, generous, fun collaboration of story and illustration and pirate tattoos. Seriously wise pirate advice for everyone!” —Jon Scieszka, National Ambassador for Young People's Literature

“This is a bighearted book about stories and storytellers, told with wit, flair, and abundant tenderness.” —Mac Barnett, New York Times bestselling author

“[This book] exemplifies what children's literature should be, sweet, emotionally generous, and elegant in what it can teach a child. . . . This book is charming as #$@%.” —Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author

“Isaac Fitzgerald could've easily named this, HOW TO REMEMBER HOW AWESOME YOU ARE, because that's what this book is. A reminder that every child-pirate is, in fact, a treasure.” —Jason Reynolds, New York Times bestselling author of ALL AMERICAN BOYS and LONG WAY DOWN

“In Isaac Fitzgerald's wonderfully empowering story, Cece finds the road map to becoming a pirate in her grandfather's tattoos, while Brigette Barrager's illustrations vibrate with energy and joy. How to Be a Pirate is the perfect primer for swashbuckling, and a happy, self-reliant childhood.” —Ann Patchett, bestselling author of COMMONWEALTH and LAMBSLIDE

“Have you ever read a story that made you remember how beautiful the world can be? . . . This is the story our children deserve. This is the story our young selves would've loved to read. Thank goodness for Isaac Fitzgerald, who writes for both the brave adults and the brilliant little ones!” —Mahogany L. Browne, author of BLACK GIRL MAGIC and WOKE BABY

"What a lovely book!" - LeVar Burton

“Filled with bright colors, soaring spirits, and a timely feminist message.” —Publishers Weekly

“Happily, Fitzgerald's tale is accompanied by the rollicking vibrancy of Barrager's art.… its feminist themes are strong.” —Kirkus Reviews

"A charismatic story that will delight . . . this is a book readers will want to share with each other." - School Library Connection

From the Publisher

2019-11-05
Feminism for the piratically inclined.

Fitzgerald and Barrager give the old chestnut of a girl who's turned away from a boys' fort due to her gender alone a piratical twist. After CeCe's initial disappointment, she vows to get advice from the only true pirate she knows: her grandfather. Game to give his granddaughter a 101 in how to be the best possible scurvy dog, he uses each of his tattoos to extol a virtue such as bravery or speed. As in Alison McGhee and Eliza Wheeler's Tell Me a Tattoo Story (2016), body art becomes the inspiration for any number of adventures and aphorisms, ending with the most important lesson: love. Readers may note that few of these flights of fancy have much to do with pirates specifically. Nevertheless, an emboldened CeCe returns to the boys and successfully owns her piratude. The ending is more than a bit optimistic, as CeCe gains admission simply by redeclaring intentions with a smidgen more chutzpah. Would that misogyny always rolled over so easily. Happily, Fitzgerald's tale is accompanied by the rollicking vibrancy of Barrager's art. Reality pales (literally) in the face of the imagination, with a clever tonal shift to a brighter, more saturated palette indicating CeCe's determination. CeCe and Grandpa both present white; the boys who initially snub her display a range of skin colors and hair textures.

While thar be precious little piracy visible in this, its feminist themes are strong. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews