Captain Abdul's Pirate School [Hardcover]

Colin McNaughton (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

A young boy who prefers poetry to fighting is sent by his father to pirate school to toughen him up under the tuition of the zany scoundrel Captain Abdul.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3?Maisie Pickles's parents hustle her off to Captain Abdul's Pirate School to toughen her up because she likes writing poems and painting pictures. She learns her lessons so well that when she overhears a plot to kidnap the students and hold them for ransom, she deftly organizes a mutiny. After subduing the teaching staff, the youngsters set sail for the West Indies and live a boisterously adventurous life, stealing from pirates and sending the treasure home. Captain Abdul reckons his school a success to have graduated such a crew, and Maisie herself is free to pursue her artistic interests. McNaughton's bold cartoons are well suited to the subject. His pirates convey just the right robust exaggeration; bold lines express exuberant movement and attitude. The text, written in the form of Maisie's diary, gives the impression of hand lettering on parchment and is spiced with lusty dialogue. The book is rife with broad humor. The student body, while multiethnic, is definitely not P.C. While the characters' stereotypical identities play no real part in the story, librarians should be alerted to the fact that there are visual and verbal jokes and plays on words at the expense of everyone. Chop is a "person of size," Ching Yih has slanted eyes and large white teeth, and Rosemary Lavender is crudely masculine.?Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 6-9. Fresh from their appearance in Jolly Roger (1988), that scalawag Captain Abdul and his motley pirate crew are back, this time operating a school designed to toughen kids up. Diary entries penned by unwilling pupil Pickles reveal the skewed school philosophy, which promotes bad manners, untidiness, cheating, and all manner of things that children know very well they're not supposed to do. As in the first book, much of the humor is in McNaughton's busy, zany pictures. The scruffy pop-eyed pirates are an engaging lot, to be sure, and the students, less individualized than their mentors, are easy to spot in their polka-dot bandannas. The story takes a clever turn at the close, but the words seem more an afterthought than a sturdy companion to the robust art. It's good fun all the same--a sort of dream come true for young pirate fanciers, boys and girls. Stephanie Zvirin

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (September 5, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564024296
• ISBN-13: 978-1564024299
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 10.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,560,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great adventure, September 16, 2007

By 

Linda Bulger (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Captain Abdul's Pirate School (Paperback)

Arrrrgh! Life on the bounding main! Kids are crazy about pirate stories, and this delightful book is well-loved by my granddaughters. The pirates are so delightfully drawn, and the captions so witty, that adults will enjoy reading it as much as the kids enjoy hearing it. Practice your pirate voice before you start!

We love the diary format -- a new student (who turns out at the end to be a girl named Maisie) is sent to pirate school to toughen her up because she likes to write poetry and paint pictures. A good-natured mutiny occurs and Maisie finds a way to be a pirate and still pursue her artistic interests.

The pirate-as-adorable-imp theme is a familiar one, however unfounded in reality. What is it about pirates that we like so much? Maybe it's the fact that they make their own rules. In "Pirate School" the students wind up rejecting much of the rough pirate behavior, turning away from meanness while keeping the freedom and adventure. That's what we'd hope for -- the antithesis of "Lord of the Flies"!

Fun story, great drawings -- highly recommended by me and my granddaughters.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These pirate teachers are hilarious!, November 12, 1999

By 

Nancy Paynich (Moreno Valley, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Captain Abdul's Pirate School (Paperback)

My students love this book so much I had to buy a second copy! A playful twist on parental expectations with a smart female protagonist. Pirate school is so fun it'll make you and your children want to sign up next semester.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful silliness!, November 6, 1999

By 

Mother of Sons "hedgemint" (Braintree, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Captain Abdul's Pirate School (Paperback)

This is a highly entertaining book, with loads of opportunities for grownups to really "ham it up" while reading to the wee pirates. The language is fun without going over into fresh. My kids were hooked right from the first sentence and delighted when the little pirates in training turned the tables on the big nasty pirates. The illustrations are wonderful, too. My boys, 6 and 5, couldn't wait to read the sequel!