Pirate Stew

Give me the narrative premise and absolute chaos of The Cat in the Hat, but swap the cat for a crew of rowdy pirates, and that’s essentially the summary of this book. Unlike Seuss, though, Gaiman fails spectacularly at the perfectly imperfect rhymes that make the story of the feline babysitter a classic amongst children’s books. His language is awkward, with rhythm and a unified voice attempted but always just slightly off, which makes for a jarring reading experience. Even read out loud, I couldn’t find a pathway to make the language flow, and found myself frowning with every discordant page and sentence. Thankfully, there is a modicum of delight to be found within the book’s pages, brought singularly by Riddell’s show more illustrations. The story’s protagonists are lively from the first page (an adorable pair of children, who pout at the idea that their fabulously fashionable parents must have a date night without them), and when the pirates are introduced to the narrative we are instantly charmed and fully engaged. The crew is raucously inventive, with Riddell referencing every version of Captain James Hook possible, Treasure Island’s challenging crew, and enterprising mariners of all sorts as they create a pirate stew of magical ingredients during their babysitting stint. The children are, of course, smart enough not to imbibe in this strange concoction - knowing full well that magical food is a trap for humans - but they are thrust into the pirate life anyway when their parents return home famished from a disappointing dinner. Considering how fun this pirate crew is (they seem far less harmful than the Cat and his cohort, and fully in support of donuts for dinner) there are far worse fates than soaring off on new adventures aboard a flying house-turned-pirate galley! Yo ho! show less

When their Mom and Dad go out on a date, a brother and sister end up with Long John McRon, Ship's Cook, as their babysitter. When Long John has a bunch of his pirate friends over to make Pirate Stew, there's no telling what will happen.

I picked up this picture book because of Neil Gaiman, of course, and while the story is very cute I didn't love it as much as anticipated because the rhyme scheme isn't consistent. Lots of ABAB rhyming and then one sentence that would suddenly not rhyme at all. However, the illustrations by Chris Riddell are gorgeous and I love that our children protagonists are bi-racial. For kiddos that love pirates, this will be a fun read but if you're the grown up reading it to a little be prepared for it to be a show more little uneven as a reading experience. show less

I think the rhyme scheme of this book was mostly a scheme to trip me up as I tried to read it aloud, but it was fun nonetheless with its predictable but satisfying ending. The pictures really carry the day.

I love the premise and the pictures are so fun, but the rhyme really threw me off. I do love the ending!

Read for my 365 Kids Book challenge. You can see all the books on their own shelf.

Recently I complained about the very limited representation of pirates in [b:Small Saul|9762941|Small Saul|Ashley Spires|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327889498l/9762941._SX50_.jpg|14652307]. Now this is more like it. The text is silly and I never did get a feel for the rhyme scheme. Regardless, the text mentions many different looking pirates and Riddell provided all those and more besides, which if not strictly historically accurate in every detail (and for all I know, they are), do suggest different eras and oceans and archetypes. One reminds me of the nurse from Pirates of Penzance. Highly recommended as a show more broadly inclusive pirate book.

Library copy show less

Silly, a little bit fun, a little disappointing. You can't write a winner every time and this isn't Gaiman's best children's book. It should either be a little longer with more coherence or shorter with a little less going on. It has missed the sweet spot.

This was a really enjoyable story. I liked the bold artwork and the whimsical tale, it covered a lot of very diverse pirates. The story was pretty simple and easy to follow, and the rhymes were fun.