The Word Pirates

by Susan Cooper, Steven Kellogg (Illustrator)

Overview

A ravenous band of pirates who eat words for breakfast gobble up the world's greatest stories. But never fear—the Word Wizard and the children she reads to are on the case!

Pirate Captain Rottingbones and his crew need breakfast. But these pirates can't have just any ordinary breakfast...no, they need nice, fresh WORDS. And where better to get them than stealing them straight off the pages of all kinds of books?

But when Captain Rottingbones and his cronies go after the Word Wizard and her extra delicious words that they steal from her extra juicy stories, they've finally gone too far...because not only does the Word Wizard believe words are precious things that belong in stories, but she also has a weapon stronger than any sword—a mighty pen.

Susan Cooper, author of the acclaimed Dark Is Rising fantasy series, teams up with renowned illustrator Steven Kellogg to create a swashbuckling adventure that celebrates the power of reading.

A Bank Street Best Book of the Year

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823443598
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	09/24/2019
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	137,125
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Newbery Medalist Susan Cooper is the author of the classic fantasy series The Dark Is Rising, as well as many other works for children, including the picture books The Magician's Boy, Tam Lin, and Frog. Born in England to Welsh parents, she now lives in Marshfield, Massachusetts. She is a recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement from the American Library Association.

Steven Kellogg is a revered author and illustrator who has written and/or illustrated almost 100 children's books, including the Pinkerton series and How Much Is a Million?. A recipient of an honorary doctor of letters from the University of Findlay, he lives in Essex, New York.

Editorial Reviews

07/15/2019

Captain Rottingbones and his fellow swashbucklers don’t go after the usual kinds of plunder: with the help of feathered henchman called Bumblebirds, they steal words from unsuspecting storytellers around the world and gobble them up “for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” But one storyteller, “a Word Wizard, a zany New Zealander,” who wears a rainbow wig just like the late author Margaret Mahy (also the subject of the lovely dedication), fights back. She vanquishes the pirates (“A word-spinning pen is mightier than a pilfering pirate’s sword!” Cooper writes), then graciously gives them a fresh start: in the final pages, they’re eating vegetables and learning to use words rather than eat them. The story feels a touch prescriptive, a component that slows the pacing, but Kellogg’s signature art overflows with the color, movement, and expression of a vintage carnival poster. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Cooper’s words are deliciously funny, and have several important messages to share about the value of stories. . . . Kellogg’s comical style perfectly complement’s Cooper’s flair. With the storyteller tone, lush palette, and oddball characters, they have created a whimsical adventure where a Word Wizard, and the children, are the heroes. Two prominent creators of children’s literature have combined their powers to deliver a memorably funny tale about the value of stories. For its potential to create future readers, this book is invaluable."—School Library Journal

"Kellogg's signature art overflows with the color, movement, and expression of a vintage carnival poster."—Publishers Weekly

"Hungry pirates are nothing to mess with under ordinary circumstances, and these buccaneers are absolutely not ordinary. . . . A right jolly paean to the deliciousness of words."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

10/01/2019

K-Gr 2—With a roar, Captain Rottingbones demands words! Pirates love eating words after all. So out go the Bumblebirds to retrieve the written delights of storytellers worldwide. To storytellers and story lovers though, this is an atrocious act. The Word Wizard and the children she was reading to give chase. Just as the ogre-like pirates begin to attack, a story stream sprouts from the author's absurdly large pen. Awed, the pirates have an epiphany. Cooper's words are deliciously funny, and have several important messages to share about the value of stories. Like the pirates, there are greedy people who wish to destroy them, though the children know them as the influential, magical things they are. Even the pirates turn over a new leaf once they realize this, learning to read and write in order to enjoy the benefits, too. Kellogg's comical style perfectly complement's Cooper's flair. With the storyteller tone, lush palette, and oddball characters, they have created a whimsical adventure where a Word Wizard, and the children, are the heroes. VERDICT Two prominent creators of children's literature have combined their powers to deliver a memorably funny tale about the value of stories. For its potential to create future readers, this book is invaluable.—Rachel Forbes, Oakville Public Library, Ont.

School Library Journal

2019-07-28
A tale of vocabulary-related piratical chicanery doubles as a touching ode to the deceased author Margaret Mahy.

Hungry pirates are nothing to mess with under ordinary circumstances, and these buccaneers are absolutely not ordinary. Capt. Rottingbones and his crew crave but one substance for their meals: words! With their Bumblebirds trained to steal from writers and books, the crew feasts on words both long ("antidisestablishmentarianism") and short ("pop"). Their doom comes when the captain sets his sights on a rainbow-wigged New Zealand "Word Wizard" (a nod to Mahy, to whom this book is dedicated). Unafraid, she does battle with the pirates with her pen, ultimately chastening them and setting them on a new path in life. There is always room for one more tale about the power of the written word, and adding pirates to the mix lends a bit of spice and flavor to this one. Accompanying the rollicking storyline, Kellogg's bright paintings, done in his signature style, fill his pages with busyness. The Bumblebirds look like white sea gulls, and the words they hunt droop from their beaks like dead fish. The pirates and other characters represent a variety of skin tones and genders while the Word Wizard and captain present white. One pirate has both an eye patch and a peg leg, but otherwise the captain's crew is largely free of stereotype.

A right jolly paean to the deliciousness of words. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews