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Book Review of How I Became a Pirate

How I Became a Pirate
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Helpful Score: 1


Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for Kids @ TeensReadToo.com

While at the beach, a young boy named Jeremy Jacob looks up from his sand castle to find a pirate ship approaching the beach. He tries to tell his family, but they are all too busy, and no one notices when the pirates pull up in their rowboat and ask Jeremy if they have reached the Spanish Main. When he says no, they are at North Beach, the pirate captain notices Jeremy's sandcastle. They need a good digger, so they invite Jeremy along with them to bury their treasure.

Life as a pirate starts out very exciting. Jeremy finds that pirate table manners don't include saying "please" or chewing with mouths closed. He doesn't have to eat vegetables (since there aren't any on board), and he even teaches the pirate crew how to play soccer before the ball ends up overboard in a shark's mouth.

After a hardy pillow fight, Jeremy heads to bed without brushing his teeth...but he can't sleep. Pirates don't tuck in, or read bedtime stories. And when a terrible storm hits the ship, Jeremy is forgotten in the chaos, and being a pirate isn't much fun anymore. He'll have to do some quick thinking to escape the ship and get back home in time for soccer practice the next day.

A hilarious read with goofy, guffaw-inducing illustrations, this whacky tale of a modern boy pirate teaches the important lesson that getting what you wish for is not always best. Even the bravest little pirates may realize after reading that a safe life at home, watching pirates in books and movies, may be more appealing than an actual life out at sea.