Hi, Kid Lit friends!
Pirates! Why are they so irresistible to kids? I have no idea either, but these pirate books are sure to captivate readers young and old.
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Three picture books with pirate protagonists are How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long, illustrated by David Shannon; Pirate Princess by Supipta Bardhan-Quallen, illustrated by Jill McElmurry; and Pirates Love Underpants by Claire Freedman, illustrated by Ben Cort. In How I Became a Pirate, Jeremy Jacob joins Captain Braid Beard and his crew in this witty look at the finer points of pirate life. Jeremy learns how to say “scurvy dog,” sing sea chanteys, and throw food . . . but he also learns that there are no books or good night kisses on board.
Pirate Princess is about Princess Bea who isn’t like other princesses—she prefers pirate ships above tea parties, the salty sea over silly dolls. But what’s a landlocked princess to do? Ahoy, Captain Jack to the rescue! When the captain offers Bea a place aboard his ship, it’s a dream come true—until she’s put to work swabbing the decks and making dinner for the crew. Can a princess like Bea put her royal gifts to work and make the pirates see that she’s seaworthy after all—or will they make her walk the plank?
The silly story in Pirates Love Underpants is sure to please the picture book crowd. Check out this opening page:
These pirates SO love underpants,
They’re on a special quest
To find the fabled Pants of Gold,
For the Captain’s treasure chest.
The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters: The Jolly Regina by Kara LaReau, illustrated by Jen Hill, is an illustrated chapter book about two sisters who are patiently waiting for their parents to return home. One day, the Bland sisters are kidnapped by an all-female band of pirates. They’re unwillingly swept into a high-seas romp that might just lead to solving the mystery of what happened to their parents.
Hook’s Revenge by Heidi Schultz is a pirate themed middle grade series about twelve-year-old Jocelyn who dreams of becoming every bit as daring as her infamous father, Captain James Hook. Her grandfather, on the other hand, intends to see her starched and pressed into a fine society lady. When she’s sent to Miss Eliza Crumb-Biddlecomb’s Finishing School for Young Ladies, Jocelyn’s hopes of following in her father’s fearsome footsteps are lost. So when Jocelyn receives a letter from her father challenging her to avenge his untimely demise at the jaws of the Neverland crocodile, she doesn’t hesitate-here at last is the adventure she has been waiting for.
Race to the Bottom of the Sea by Lindsay Eager is a middle grade story about eleven-year-old Fidelia Quail is racked by grief when her parents, the great marine scientists Dr. and Dr. Quail, are killed in a tragic accident. But Fidelia is forced out of her mourning when she’s kidnapped by Merrick the Monstrous, a pirate whose list of treasons stretches longer than a ribbon eel. Her task? Use her marine know-how to retrieve his treasure, lost on the ocean floor. But as Fidelia and the pirates close in on the prize, with the navy hot on their heels, she realizes that Merrick doesn’t expect to live long enough to enjoy his loot. Could something other than black-hearted greed be driving him?
Flying Lessons and Other Stories, edited by Ellen Oh, is collection of short stories by well-known and award winning middle grade authors. In particular, Grace Lin’s contribution “The Difficult Path” is the tale of a young Chinese servant girl who is captured by pirates, who save her from an arranged marriage to a horrible young boy from a wealthy family.
The Whydah: A Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked, and Found by Martin W. Sandler was a finalist for the 2018 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults. The book focuses on the 1650s to the 1730s, the golden age of piracy, when fearsome pirates like Blackbeard ruled the waves, seeking not only treasure but also large and fast ships to carry it. The Whydah was just such a ship, built to ply the Triangular Trade route, which it did until one of the greediest pirates of all, Black Sam Bellamy, commandeered it. Filling the ship to capacity with treasure, Bellamy hoped to retire with his bounty — but in 1717 the ship sank in a storm off Cape Cod. For more than two hundred years, the wreck of the Whydah (and the riches that went down with it) eluded treasure seekers, until the ship was finally found in 1984 by marine archaeologists. The artifacts brought up from the ocean floor are priceless, both in value and in the picture they reveal of life in that much-mythologized era, changing much of what we know about pirates.
New Releases!
All of these books release this Tuesday unless otherwise noted. The book descriptions are from Goodreads, but I’ll add a 
if I particularly loved a title.
Board Book New Releases
Animal Colors by Christopher Silas Neal (Little Bee Books)
When a blue whale and a yellow lion mix, it makes a . . .
Green Whion
In this delightful board book with bold, striking images, Christopher Silas Neal combines animals of different colors and species to form one unique creature! Children will have endless fun guessing what brand-new, made-up animal will appear next! This book will have them playing and guessing with each reread and features a list of color combinations from the book for kids to reference!
Animal Shapes by Christopher Silas Neal (Little Bee Books)
When a cozy cat meets a circle, they make a . . .
Purrrrrcle
In this delightful board book with striking images, Christopher Silas Neal combines animals and shapes to form a unique, inventive objective. Children will have endless fun guessing what brand-new, made-up animal will appear next! This book will have kids playing and guessing with each reread!
Picture Book New Releases
World Make Way: New Poems Inspired by Art from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins (Abrams)
“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.”
—Leonardo da Vinci
Based on this simple statement by Leonardo, 18 poets have written new poems inspired by some of the most popular works in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum. The collection represents a wide range of poets and artists, including acclaimed children’s poets Marilyn Singer, Alma Flor Alda, and Carole Boston Weatherford and popular artists such as Mary Cassatt, Fernando Botero, Winslow Homer, and Utagawa Hiroshige.
With My Hands: Poems About Making Things by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, illustrated by Lou Dancher and Steve Johnson (HMH Books for Young Readers)
Building, baking, folding, drawing, shaping . . . making something with your own hands is a special, personal experience. Taking an idea from your imagination and turning it into something real is satisfying and makes the maker proud.
Exoplanets by Seymour Simon (HarperCollins)
There are thousands of exoplanets scattered throughout the Milky Way galaxy, and scientists are on a constant quest to find one just like Earth. In Exoplanets, Simon examines the planets outside of our solar system and uncovers what makes them habitable, our efforts to discover new life, and more. With clear, simple text and stunning full-color photographs, readers will explore the farthest reaches of space and explore the answer to the question: do aliens exist?
Down By The River by Andrew Weiner, illustrated by April Chu (Abrams, 3/6/18)
One beautiful autumn day, Art sets out with his mother and grandfather for a fishing trip. Fishing days are Art’s favorite. He loves learning the ropes from Grandpa—the different kinds of flies and tackle and the trout that frequent their favorite river. Art especially appreciates Grandpa’s stories. But, this time, hearing the story about Mom’s big catch on her first cast ever makes Art feel insecure about his own fishing skills. But, as Art hooks a beautiful brown trout, he finds reassurance in Grandpa’s stories and marvels in the sport and a day spent with family, promising to continue the tradition with his own grandkids generations later.
Honey by David Ezra Stein (Nancy Paulsen Books)
Bear is ravenous when he wakes up from his winter sleep and has one thing on his mind: honey! Alas, it is too soon for honey, so Bear tries hard to be patient. The world around him is waking up, too, and he soon remembers all the other things he loves, like warm grass, berries, and rain. He’s almost content, until, one day, he hears a welcome buzzing sound . . . and finally it is time for Bear to delight in the thing he relishes above all others–and it is as warm, golden, sweet, and good as he remembered.
Forever or a Day by Sarah Jacoby (Chronicle)
The seconds that count in catching the bus;
The idyllic hours that slip by so quickly during a perfect day on the lake;
The summer days that disappear into blissful happiness . . .
This beautiful picture book follows an unassuming narrator through a meditation on time through the course of a single day. Inviting comparisons to Virginia Lee Burton and Margaret Wise Brown, this book’s musings on time are at once simple, peaceful, and profound—the work of a truly genius picture book maker.
Middle Grade New Releases
Bat and the Waiting Game by Elana K. Arnold (HarperCollins)
For Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat), life is pretty great. He’s the caretaker of the best baby skunk in the world—even Janie, his older sister, is warming up to Thor. When Janie gets a part in the school play and can’t watch Bat after school, it means some pretty big changes. Someone else has to take care of the skunk kit in the afternoons, Janie is having sleepovers with her new friends, and Bat wants everything to go back to normal. He just has to make it to the night of Janie’s performance. . . .
Cilla Lee-Jenkins: This Book Is A Classic by Susan Tan, illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte (Roaring Brook Press)
Priscilla “Cilla” Lee-Jenkins has just finished her (future) bestselling memoir, and now she’s ready to write a Classic. This one promises to have everything: Romance, Adventure, and plenty of Drama―like Cilla’s struggles to “be more Chinese,” be the perfect flower girl at Aunt Eva’s wedding, and learn how to share her best friend. In Cilla Lee-Jenkins: This Book Is a Classic, author Susan Tan seamlessly weaves experiences as a Chinese American with universal stories about being a big sister, making friends, and overcoming fears. Cilla Lee-Jenkins will bulldoze her way into your heart in this winning middle grade novel about family, friendship, and finding your voice.
Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi (Rick Riordan Disney Publishing)
This adventure by Roshani Chokshi is about twelve-year-old Aru Shah, who has a tendency to stretch the truth in order to fit in at school. While her classmates are jetting off to family vacations in exotic locales, she’ll be spending her autumn break at home, in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, waiting for her mom to return from her latest archeological trip. Is it any wonder that Aru makes up stories about being royalty, traveling to Paris, and having a chauffeur?
Elementals: Ice Wolves by Amie Kaufman (HarperCollins)
So when twelve-year-old orphan Anders takes one elemental form and his twin sister, Rayna, takes another, he wonders whether they are even related. Still, whether or not they’re family, Rayna is Anders’s only true friend. She’s nothing like the brutal, cruel dragons who claimed her as one of their own and stole her away. In order to rescue her, Anders must enlist at the foreboding Ulfar Academy, a school for young wolves that values loyalty to the pack above all else. But for Anders, loyalty is more complicated than obedience, and friendship is the most powerful shapeshifting force of all.
King of the Bench: Kicking and Screaming by Steve Moore (HarperCollins)
Steve is King of the Bench. No brag. It’s just a fact. But this season, his soccer-loving pals Joey and Carlos—plus soccer superstar Becky O’Callahan—are dragging him off the bench to play for the Spiro T. Agnew JV soccer team, even though soccer doesn’t exactly fry his burger. Will Steve’s epic and hilarious weekend at an away tournament leave him hating soccer more than ever? Or will he finally discover what all the kicking and screaming is about?
The Train of Lost Things by Ammi-Joan Paquette (Penguin Random House, 3/20/18)
Marty cherishes the extra-special birthday present his dad gave him — a jean jacket on which he’s afixed numerous buttons — because it’s a tie to his father, who is sick and doesn’t have much time left. So when his jacket goes missing, Marty is devastated. When his dad tells him the story of the Train of Lost Things, a magical train that flies through the air collecting objects lost by kids, Marty is sure that the train must be real, and that if he can just find the train and get his jacket back, he can make his dad better as well.
Around the web…
John Oliver Challenges V.P. Pence Via Picture Book Showdown, via Publisher’s Weekly
4 Great Bilingual English Spanish Books for Toddlers, via Book Riot
Now Quick, Sleep Tight!: Short Bedtime Stories for Kids and Kids at Heart, via Book Riot
12 Kid-Approved Middle Grade Books That Tackle Mental Health, via Brightly
I’ve been busy reading a lot of middle grade books lately. Kwame Alexander’s prequel to The Crossover is coming out on April 2, 2018 with HMH Books for Young Readers. I didn’t think the author could pull off a book as great as The Crossover, but he did with Rebound.
The third book in the Book Scavengers series is a real treat. The Alcatraz Escape (Henry Holt & Co., 5/1/18) by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman is filled with puzzles, intrigue, and mystery, and I could not put it down!
I was happy to be a part of the cover reveal for Amal Unbound (Nancy Paulsen Books, 5/8/18) by Aisha Saeed over on the Book Riot main website. Amal Unbound is set in a Pakistani village. Amal has no complaints, and she’s busy pursuing her dream of becoming a teacher one day. Then the unimaginable happens–after an accidental run-in with the son of her village’s corrupt landlord, Amal must work as his family’s servant to pay off her own family’s debt.
I’d love to know what you are reading this week! Find me on Twitter at @KarinaYanGlaser, on Instagram at @KarinaIsReadingAndWriting, or email me at karina@bookriot.com.
Until next week!
Karina
Nala demonstrating how we all feel when we’ve finished a book series we absolutely loved.
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