The Night Pirates (Book)

Harris, P. (2006). The night pirates. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 0-439-79959-7

Interest Level: Ages 5 to 3
Genre: Picture Book
Subjects/Themes: Pirates, Adventures, Stories in Rhyme,

Plot: One night Tom, a little boy, sees shadows moving outside his house.  The shadows belong to little girl pirates who need the house to disguise their ship from the adult pirates.  Tom asks to join the girl pirates on their adventure and they loudly welcome him aboard.  The sail to the island where the adult pirates are sleeping with their treasure.  They are able to sneak up on them and steal the treasure. leaving the adult pirates crying for their mommies.  The little pirates sail back to Tom's house to return their disguise.  Tom doesn't think anyone will ever find out about his adventure, as long as they don't notice the house is upside down.

Personal Thoughts: A very cute story.  The text is simple enough to read aloud and flows well.  Words or phrases are often repeated three times which strengthens the tone of the reading.  The illustrations are detailed mixtures of paintings and graph paper-like cut outs.  Tom never shows any fear of the shadows lurking in the dark.  The little girls welcome Tom aboard enthusiastically, rather then say "no boys allowed" as the story points out.  Children will get a laugh from the pirates crying for their mommy and the post man looking at the upside down house.

Other Books by the Author: Bottomley at the Cattery (1998); Perfect Prudence (2003); Ordinary Audrey (2001); Mouse Creeps (1997);