When Mom serves Bad News Pie,
Wilson hopes she won’t notice his broken glasses. Again
–wearing glasses and being small invites trouble when
you’re a fourth grader. No sooner does Mom reveal her
news, but there’s a knock at the door. Her long-lost
brother, Uncle Pirate, and his talking penguin, Captain
Jack, arrive. And everything changes, beginning with
Captain Jack’s tossing food out of the refrigerator so he
can sleep in a cold place.
Having been marooned by his crew for
failing to make them rich, Uncle Pirate must find work,
but the first few jobs he tries don’t quite work out as
planned. Captain Jack just wants to go to school and
learn to read and write, but Wilson doesn’t think that’s
a good idea. How can one learn when nobody heeds the
teacher and the pledge to the flag goes, “We pledge
allegiance to the United Snakes of America and to all
that other stuff we don’t understand. Amen.” Not to
mention the fact that Carla Canova, “the meanest fourth
grader in the last hundred years,” has a date to beat up
Wilson for stealing her Pixi Trix. (He didn’t, but that
doesn’t matter.)
When Uncle Pirate learns about what’s
happening at school, he and Captain Jack accompany
Wilson to school. Ms. Twissel, Wilson’s teacher, takes
one look at Uncle Pirate and quits, so Uncle Pirate
takes command. And he won’t tolerate all the
mollymockery that’s been going on!
Uncle Pirate is a diamond in the
rough. Without the dust jacket, it’s simply another
book. One that would probably sit on the shelf and never
be read. And though eye-catching and intriguing – after
all, how many penguins have you seen reading a book or
schools flying the Jolly Roger – the dust jacket might
not quite stir you to look inside. That would be a major
mistake! Sufficient enough to get a pirate marooned!
This chapter book will make you wish you had a
one-legged pirate uncle for a teacher. Rees subtly
weaves pirate facts and speech into the storyline
without being intrusive. His keen understanding of being
a kid and coping with bullies makes the story true to
life, while he laces the bad stuff with humor so as not
to threaten. Auth’s cartoon-like illustrations cleverly
bring the story and characters to life. The
black-and-white renderings make you focus on the events
that unfold, whereas color would intrude on the story,
and you’ll find at least one favorite that will make you
smile and cheer. Uncle Pirate is one of those
stories you want to read over and over again.
Pirates
and Privateers
