The Not-So-Jolly Roger [Paperback]

Jon Scieszka (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 31, 1993

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Three friends, Sam, Joe, and Fred travel through time having action-packed, outlandish adventures. The snappy dialogue and classic ""boy"" humor in this series of chapter books will engage the most reluctant readers.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-By Jon Scieszka. Joe, Fred and Sam rescue their own hides in this exciting tale.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

A second ``Time Warp Trio'' story (cf. Knights of the Kitchen Table, above), only slightly less clever than the first. The boys now find themselves on a desert island. Blackbeard comes to bury treasure--and his two helpers; he catches the boys and takes them to the pirate ship (Israel Hands is among those aboard). There's some suspense, more slapstick, and the singing of some fine chanteys before the boys are again saved by The Book. Smith's funny/wicked pirates make an excellent contribution. ``Historical afterword'' on Blackbeard; another (tongue firmly in cheek) on the boys. (Fiction. 8-12) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Perfection Learning Prebound (August 31, 1993)
• ISBN-10: 0780722523
• ISBN-13: 978-0780722521
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,641,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jon Scieszka was born in Flint, Michigan on September 8th, 1954. He grew up with five brothers, has the same birthday as Peter Sellers and the Virgin Mary, and a sneaking suspicion that the characters in his Dick and Jane reader were not of this world. Those plain facts, plus his elementary school principal dad, Louis, his registered nurse mom, Shirley (who once took Jon's Cub Scout den on a field trip to the prenatal ward), Mad Magazine, four years of pre-med undergrad, "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show", an M.F.A. in Fiction from Columbia University, Robert Benchley, five years of painting apartments in New York City, his lovely wife Jeri Hansen who introduced him to Molly Leach and Lane Smith, Green Eggs and Ham, his teenage daughter Casey and almost teenage son Jake, ten years of teaching a little bit of everything from first grade to eighth grade, and the last twenty years of living in Brooklyn...are just some of Jon's answers to the questions, "Where do you get your ideas?" and/or "How did you become a writer?" I don't know, just because, none of your beeswax, and flapdoodle poppycock and balderdash are some more of Jon's answers to questions you can imagine on your own. Jon met up with Lane Smith around 1986 or so, and nothing has been the same since. Their first book, the wiseguy fairy tale retelling, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! was initially rejected by most publishers as "too weird" and "too sophisticated". Published by Viking in 1989, The True Story has now sold over a million copies, been translated into ten languages, and been called a "classic picture book for all ages". Jon and Lane's The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (1992) took the world of the picture book a few steps further. Goofing with the conventions of fairy tales and even being a book, The Stinky Cheese Man became a household word, sold another mess of copies in multiple languages, offended a few purists, and still managed to win a Caldecott Honor medal. Math Curse (1995) further stretched the notion of what subjects make good picture books, selling more books faster than either 3 Little Pigs or Stinky Cheese, and winning a whole slew of awards --all for a book full of mathematics.More recently, Jon and Lane have resurrected fables (in the smart, funny, and a little bit wicked way Aesop would have wanted them) in their latest collaboration, Squids Will Be Squids (1998). No telling where they might take the picture book next. Someone once wrote, "Jon Scieszka has forever changed the face of children's literature." And while there is still some confusion over exactly who that someone was, and whether children's literature does, in fact, have a face, most would agree-from The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! to Squids Will Be Squids, since Scieszka put pen to paper, children's literature sure has been...different.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much fun for little boys, October 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Not-So-Jolly Roger (The Time Warp Trio) (Mass Market Paperback)

My two sons (ages 6 and 8) and I had much fun reading this--they were already fans of pirate lore with pirate Legos and who love to dress up and play pirates in the braken. You'll love it too, and besides, boys need more literature with fun, fantasy, silliness, and adventure!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the best book from the time warp trio., April 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Not-So-Jolly Roger (The Time Warp Trio) (Mass Market Paperback)

The story is about Fred, Sam and Joe, stuck on an island. Pirate Blackbeard comes and takes them captive on his ship. When they are on the ship it is attacked. Blackbeard sees Fred, Sam, and Joe hiding behind barrels. Fred, Sam and Joe decide to help Blackbeard because if they didn' t they might not live. The cannon was pointing towards the ship so they all pulled it up and saved the ship. I liked the book because of the characters. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes pirates. I liked Fred, Sam and Joe climbed into the trees and threw coconuts at each other.
I liked when people buried treasure.

by Tommy Currier

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Not So Jolly Roger, October 29, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Not-So-Jolly Roger (Time Warp Trio) (School & Library Binding)

We think the book,the Time Warp Trio The Not So Jolly Roger is funny and packed with adventure.In this story the three boys Joe,Fred,and Sam go in the magic book in the time of Black Beard the pirate. In the beginning they see a ship with three big cannons aimed right at them.The boys hurry up and climb coconut trees to escape.From the top they spy Black Beard on the ship.Trying to get down,they get stuck in the trees. After they get down from the trees, the three boys see Black Beard and his treasure. Two of the pirates were going to take it, but Black Beard saw them and shot them. Black Beard then thought the trio were going to try and steal his treasure.
Will the boys ever find the book and get home? If you want to find out, read this book.