Violet and the Mean and Rotten Pirates [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Richard Hamilton (Author), Bill Wallace (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2004

When a bunch of mean and rotten pirates raid an abandoned ship they discover far more than they bargained for. On board is a baby girl who they happily adopt and call Violet--Vile for short. Soon the pirates are busy caring for the little girl and teaching her piratical ways. Great times are had as the pirates and violet happily sail the seven seas in their trusty ship, the Sleek sally, and the wonderful adventures that they share make for hilarious listening.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-4-This attempt at a tongue-in-cheek, swashbuckling adventure falls flat. A group of rather tame, tough-talking pirates, headed by a captain who is afraid of the sight of blood, finds a baby on an abandoned ship and adopts her. Predictably, they come to love Violet (or Vile, as they call her) and bring her up as one of their own ("I reckon you is now a fit an' proper pirate, mean and rotten to the core, and ready for raidin'!"). When the captain's hand is cut during a foray, he loses his taste for his work. After Violet learns to read and books open her eyes to the world around her, she convinces the men to settle down in an English fishing village where they set up a pirate circus. The dialogue is stilted, and many readers may be confused by the numerous dropped consonants. There is neither sufficient action nor character development to sustain interest, and the cartoon spot art is equally unengaging. Youngsters who enjoy wacky stories in this vein should stick with Margaret Mahy's The Great Piratical Rumbustification (Godine, 2000) or Tingleberries, Tuckertubs and Telephones (Viking, 1998).
Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. A gaggle of pirates board a ship but instead of finding treasure, they find a small girl. Her name is Violet--Vile for short--and soon she is winning their hearts and mastering their trade, scooting up the rigging and spying hidden treasure. But the pirate captain cannot stand the sight of blood (he can hardly bring himself to say the word), and the treasure biz isn't always profitable. The pirates put into port, clean themselves up, and while having a very large cream tea (tea figures mightily in the narrative) are inspired to begin a pirate circus--with Violet's rigging skills turned to the trapeze. The squiggly line drawings, equally lighthearted, nicely break up the text, which is just the right mix of funny and silly. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: BBC Audiobooks (February 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0754064565
• ISBN-13: 978-0754064565
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,539,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Swashbuckling fun!, January 23, 2009

By 

R. MAY "Precocious Reader's Mom" (Syracuse, NY, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Violet and the Mean and Rotten Pirates (Paperback)

My daughter LOVED this book when she was 6-8 and still pulls it out now and then to giggle over it. It was one of the first books she read all the way through to herself; the gentle humor and individualized characters of the pirates kept her interest and made her feel like part of the story.