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Uncle Pirate by Douglas Rees — book cover
Fiction - Adventure, Adventurers & Heroes, Fiction - Animals - Marine Life, Fiction - Animals - Birds, Fiction - Schools & Friendship, Fiction - Family Life

Uncle Pirate

by Douglas Rees, Tony Auth
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Overview

It's not every day that a pirate — and his talking penguin — show up at the front door! But that's exactly what happens when Wilson's long-lost uncle comes to live with his family. Desperate Evil Wicked Bob and his sidekick, Captain Jack, are not ordinary houseguests. They're not ordinary anything. Uncle Pirate is having a spot of trouble adjusting to life on land. And Captain Jack wants to go to school to learn to read. Unfortunately, Very Elementary is as far from shipshape and Bristol fashion as a school could be. Until Uncle Pirate steps in, that is....

Set sail for a classroom adventure from mollymockery to mathematics in this story of a boy who has what every kid wants — a pirate for an uncle.

Synopsis

It's not every day that a pirate — and his talking penguin — show up at the front door! But that's exactly what happens when Wilson's long-lost uncle comes to live with his family. Desperate Evil Wicked Bob and his sidekick, Captain Jack, are not ordinary houseguests. They're not ordinary anything. Uncle Pirate is having a spot of trouble adjusting to life on land. And Captain Jack wants to go to school to learn to read. Unfortunately, Very Elementary is as far from shipshape and Bristol fashion as a school could be. Until Uncle Pirate steps in, that is....

Set sail for a classroom adventure from mollymockery to mathematics in this story of a boy who has what every kid wants — a pirate for an uncle.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4

Wilson's life is challenging. His elementary school is not for the lily-livered; it is disastrously run and overflowing with bullies. His scallywag principal spends his days under a desk and the school secretary must be bribed with snacks. His classmates refuse to learn, preferring to torment one another instead. Life at home is hard, too. His family's wallet and living quarters are tight. This all begins to change when Wilson finds out that he has an uncle who is a pirate. After years marooned on Antarctica with a talking penguin, Uncle Desperate Evil Wicked Bob is coming to stay. Needless to say, the man does not quite fit in, but he's still able to whip Wilson's school into shape. Readers will enjoy the fun of Uncle Pirate's unorthodox methods and the pirate theme and jargon (glossary included). Though light on character development, this quick-paced jaunt will amuse children as it sails the current of pirate mania. Auth's delightful black-and-white illustrations appear throughout.-Laura Butler, Mount Laurel Library, NJ

About the Author, Douglas Rees

Douglas Rees is a librarian who resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is also the author of Grandy Thaxter's Helper, Uncle Pirate and Uncle Pirate to the Rescue, as well as two novels for older readers, Lightning Time and Vampire High. Visit him online at DouglasRees.com.

Tony Auth has been the editorial cartoonist for the Philadelphia

Enquirer since 1971. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his work in 1976, as

well as five Overseas Press Club Awards and the Sigma Delta Chi Award for

Distinguished Service in Journalism. His cartoons are distributed around

the world by Universal Press Syndicate.

Reviews

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Editorials

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4

Wilson's life is challenging. His elementary school is not for the lily-livered; it is disastrously run and overflowing with bullies. His scallywag principal spends his days under a desk and the school secretary must be bribed with snacks. His classmates refuse to learn, preferring to torment one another instead. Life at home is hard, too. His family's wallet and living quarters are tight. This all begins to change when Wilson finds out that he has an uncle who is a pirate. After years marooned on Antarctica with a talking penguin, Uncle Desperate Evil Wicked Bob is coming to stay. Needless to say, the man does not quite fit in, but he's still able to whip Wilson's school into shape. Readers will enjoy the fun of Uncle Pirate's unorthodox methods and the pirate theme and jargon (glossary included). Though light on character development, this quick-paced jaunt will amuse children as it sails the current of pirate mania. Auth's delightful black-and-white illustrations appear throughout.-Laura Butler, Mount Laurel Library, NJ

Kirkus Reviews

In this silly, off-kilter tale, fourth-grader Wilson discovers a long-lost uncle who happens to be a real-life pirate. He comes complete with pistols, a peg leg and a talking penguin. Uncle Pirate sets out to find a job, one day accompanying Wilson to his bizarrely topsy-turvy school. The teachers are more than inept, the principal hides under his desk, the classrooms are chaos and recess evokes images of Lord of the Flies. To get the school ship-shape, Uncle Pirate deploys a combination of pirate-speak-"mollymockery" and "arh"-and good-hearted intimidation-"Which of you scurvy mop buckets knows that word?" When all is said and done, Uncle Pirate has a job: He transforms teachers and students into happy sub-pirates and the school into a place of learning. Auth's comical illustrations add to the witty tone. A great middle-reader for any young landlubber who likes a good yarn and believes everyone deserves a chance. (glossary, song) (Fiction. 7-10)

Book Details

Published
June 1, 2008
Publisher
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pages
112
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9781416947622

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