Cast on, cast off, and set sail for a great yarn
Can one pirate ship contain both knitting needles and pirates’ cutlasses?
In a rollicking and rhyming adventure filled with delightfully seaworthy words, Ned, a pirate, loves to knit. The captain firmly and loudly objects. “A scurvy pirate doesn’t knit, nor wear a fuzzy hat.” The crew bravely sails and digs up treasure while relishing their lack of manners. “We’re grouchy and slouchy. We don’t ever quit! / We slurp, and we burp, and we gulp, and we… / KNIT!!!”—that last word is from Ned, a running joke. Alas, Ned the knitter must stow his needles and yarns until a (not particularly fearsome but very hungry) monster attacks. Who or what can save the ship from this creature that resembles an oversized bath toy? Ned has the perfect solution, one that converts the pirates into a bevy of dedicated knitters and will not surprise readers one delighted jot. Murray has great fun with her tale, which is perfect for reading aloud. Lammle’s colorfully cartoonish art depicts a very appealing collection of sea creatures and pirates (mostly light-skinned, including Ned and the mermaid who watches the action from the waves). Ned can be viewed as a bender of gender stereotypes with great appeal to all.
Cast on, cast off, and set sail for a great yarn . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-59643-890-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts.
Can knightly deeds bring together a feathered odd couple who are on opposite daily schedules?
Having won over a dragon (and millions of fans) in the Caldecott Honor–winning Knight Owl (2022), the fierce yet impossibly cute nocturnal, armor-clad owlet faces a new challenge—sleep deprivation—in the wake of taking on Early Bird, a trainee who rises with the sun and chatters interminably: “I made pancakes! Do you like pancakes? I love pancakes! Where’s the syrup?” It’s enough to test the patience of even the knightliest of owls, and eventually Knight Owl explodes in anger. But although Early Bird is even smaller than her mentor, she turns out to be just as determined to achieve knighthood. After he tells her to leave, she acquits herself so nobly in a climactic encounter with a pack of wolves that she earns a place at the castle. Denise proves a dab hand at depicting genuinely slinky, scary wolves as well as slipping cheerfully anachronistic newspapers and other sight gags into his realistically wrought medieval settings to underscore the tale’s tongue-in-cheek tone. Better yet, a final view of the doughty duo sitting down together to a lavish pancake breakfast/dinner at dusk ends the episode in a sweet rush of syrup and bonhomie.
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9780316564526
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
A gentle adventure that sets the stage for future quests.
A lonely prince gains a friend for a quest to find a missing jewel.
Prince Lucas of Wrenly has everything a boy could possibly want—except a friend. His father has forbidden him to play with the village children for reasons of propriety. Adventure-seeking Lucas acquires peasant clothes to masquerade as a commoner and make friends, but he is caught out. His mother, the queen, persuades the king to allow him one friend: Clara, the daughter of her personal dressmaker. When the queen’s prized emerald pendant goes missing, Lucas and Clara set off to find it. They follow the jewel as it changes hands, interviewing each temporary owner. Their adventure cleverly introduces the series’ world and peoples, taking the children to the fairy island of Primlox, the trolls’ home of Burth, the wizard island of Hobsgrove and finally Mermaid’s Cove. By befriending the mermaids, Lucas and Clara finally recover the jewel. In thanks, the king gives Clara a horse of her own so that she may ride with Lucas on their future adventures. The third-person narration is generally unobtrusive, allowing the characters to take center stage. The charming, medieval-flavored illustrations set the fairy-tale scene and take up enough page space that new and reluctant readers won’t be overwhelmed by text.
A gentle adventure that sets the stage for future quests. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-9691-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
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