Bookish Ways (for the Young-ish Set) to Celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Avast, me hearties! International Talk Like a Pirate Day be soon upon us. Aye, very soon. Tomorrow, in fact.

If this oh-so-fun little-known holiday, celebrated annually on September 19th, has taken ye by surprise this year, never fear. We scalawags here at Bugs and Bunnies have some fun and bookish ways for teachers an' kids ta celebrate the day.

Since pirates are some of our favorite people, we've reviewed a fair number of fantastic piratical books. Below are summaries of all of 'em to date. If we've done a full review, clicking the titles will take ye to the full review posts for each one:

The Mousehunter 
Written and illustrated by Alex Milway
Ages 10 - 12

Twelve-year-old Emiline Orelia is mousekeeper for Isiah Lovelock, Old Town's most famous mouse collector and one of its wealthiest citizens. Emiline cares for her own Grey Mouse, named Portly, as well as all of the mice in Lovelock's vast collection. It's not a glamorous job, but Emiline is very good at it, and hopes one day to become a mousehunter, so she can go out and discover new and interesting mice.

In Emiline's world, collecting and trading mice is valued above all else - but these are no ordinary field mice. There is the Sharpclaw Mouse: a sneaky, mischievous mouse with huge, dagger-like claws on its front paws that can slice through even wood and metal with ease. Or the Magnetical Mouse: prized by sailors for their bulletlike nose that always points due north. Or the Howling Moon Mouse: best known of all the howler mice, it howls only on nights with a full moon. And this is only to name a few.

When Mousebeard, the most feared pirate on the Seventeen Seas, sinks Lovelock's merchant ship, Lovelock hires Captain Devlin Drewshank to hunt him down and capture him. Emiline overhears the deal and, seeing this as the chance of a lifetime, runs away and boards Drewshank's ship, excited to be on the adventure. The journey is a dangerous one, filled with pirates, and battles, and even sea monsters. And Emiline soon comes to realize that all is not exactly as she thought it was, and that no one she's met is exactly who she thought they were.

Fish
By Gregory Mone
Ages 8 and up

Maurice "Fish" Reidy is eleven years old when Shamrock dies. Without their horse, the family can't afford to feed itself, let alone farm their land. Someone has to go into the city to work and send money home. Since Fish is the worst at farming, it's agreed he should be the one to go.

His father arranges for Fish to work for his uncle as a courier. When Fish is entrusted with a mysterious package of coins, he's robbed before he can make the delivery. He tracks down the thief amongst a bunch of pirates, aboard their ship, the Scurvy Mistress. Determined to get that package back and to its rightful recipient, Fish sneaks aboard and joins the pirate crew. He soon learns the coins are more than what they seem, and some of the crew are not as loyal as they'd have their captain believe.

As the Scurvy Mistress sets sail, Fish finds himself on an adventure he never saw coming, with friends he never imagined making. It's a journey that promises to change his life - and that of his family - forever.

How I Became a Pirate
Written by Melinda Long
Illustrated by David Shannon
Ages 4 - 8

Jeremy Jacob was just a boy building a sandcastle on the beach - until the day the pirates came. The pirates were in need of a digger to help bury their treasure. And the captain couldn't help but notice that "He's a digger, he is, and a good one to boot!" The crew heartily agreed, "A good one to boot!" And that is how Jeremy Jacob became a pirate.

Here Be Monsters! The Ratbridge Chronicles, Volume 1
Written and illustrated by Alan Snow
Ages 9 - 12

Young Arthur is a resident of Ratbridge. Or, rather, a resident under Ratbridge. He's not sure why he lives below ground, except that his inventor grandfather says that they must. They share this underground world with curious creatures: boxtrolls, cabbageheads, rabbit women, and the rather fearsome trotting badgers.

One day, Arthur gets caught above-ground on one of his nightly forays to the surface world to gather food. The rather nasty Snatcher, his grandfather's old nemesis, has stolen the machine Arthur's grandfather built for him to be able to fly about, and he doesn't know how to get back home.

But Arthur is not without friends. He is helped by the kindly retired lawyer Willbury Nibble, and the underlings who live with him: the boxtrolls Fish, Egg, and Shoe, and the shy cabbagehead Titus. Then there's the pirates-turned-laundry-workers, talking rats and crows, and oh! we can't forget The Man in the Iron Socks. They are all determined to get Arthur back home safely.

Arthur and his friends soon discover that something stinks in Ratbridge, and it isn't just the cheese: Someone has begun hunting Wild English Cheeses again - an outlawed sport. And mysterious goings-on are afoot at the old Cheese Hall. And all the entrances to the underground world have been sealed up. And the boxtrolls and cabbageheads are all disappearing. And the underlings' tunnels are starting to flood. Grandfather is worried, and they all know Snatcher is the root of this mystery. Somehow. Whatever will they do?

Another Whole Nother Story
As told by (The Incomparable) Dr. Cuthbert Soup
Ages 8 and up 

Mr. Ethan Cheeseman and his three smart, polite, and relatively odor-free children are back in another adventure - with all-new names, of course. Now that they've got the LVR working (the supposedly secret, yet relentlessly sought-after time machine introduced in A Whole Nother Story), the family is all set to travel back in time to just before their beloved wife and mother Olivia Cheeseman meets her unfortunate end at the hands of those seeking to "acquire" the LVR.

But all does not go according to plan. First, they wind up not in the relatively recent past, as they'd planned, but way back in 1668. Worse, their crash landing has damaged the LVR, and unless they can find the proper parts to repair it, the family has no way to return to their own time in the 21st century. As if that weren't trouble enough, the family finds themselves facing suspicion of witchcraft, battling pirates, and navigating a haunted castle. Add to that their tangle with a dangerous nemesis from their present whom they believed they'd seen the last of, and things don't look good.

Despite these odds, the likeable Cheesemans are not without friends, meeting several helpful souls along the way. But is it enough to help them get out of the distant past, and into the nearer past, so they can save their beloved Olivia Cheeseman, and get back to their own time?

* * *

Well, land lubbers, that's all we got, and we ain't got no more. But keep a weather eye on the Bugs and Bunnies horizon – we've got our eyes on more'n a few other fantastic pirate-y books we'd love ta be postin' about in future.

But for now, mateys, we hope you enjoy what we've presented here today, and have a most fabulous International Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19th.

 

Book Review: The Mousehunter, by Alex Milway

     "Be sure of it," said Lovelock. "This is the last time Mousebeard gets the better of me."
     Emiline shrank back into the passageway, the word 'Mousebeard' circling endlessly through her thoughts. He was the pirate of pirates: bigger, nastier, and hairier than any other. Ever since she was tiny she'd heard horrible tales of him and the infamous mice that lived in his beard.
     With her heart beating heavily, Emiline checked the mouse in her care. It was snoring sweetly, and making occasional sleepy squeaks. Something exciting was happening – something bigger and greater than anything that normally happened to a mousekeeper. She wanted to be part of it..."


Summary:
Twelve-year-old Emiline Orelia is mousekeeper for Isiah Lovelock, Old Town's most famous mouse collector and one of its wealthiest citizens. Emiline cares for her own Grey Mouse, named Portly, as well as all of the mice in Lovelock's vast collection. It's not a glamorous job, but Emiline is very good at it, and hopes one day to become a mousehunter, so she can go out and discover new and interesting mice.

In Emiline's world, collecting and trading mice is valued above all else - but these are no ordinary field mice. There is the Sharpclaw Mouse: a sneaky, mischievous mouse with huge, dagger-like claws on its front paws that can slice through even wood and metal with ease. Or the Magnetical Mouse: prized by sailors for their bulletlike nose that always points due north. Or the Howling Moon Mouse: best known of all the howler mice, it howls only on nights with a full moon. And this is only to name a few.

When Mousebeard, the most feared pirate on the Seventeen Seas, sinks Lovelock's merchant ship, Lovelock hires Captain Devlin Drewshank to hunt him down and capture him. Emiline overhears the deal and, seeing this as the chance of a lifetime, runs away and boards Drewshank's ship, excited to be on the adventure. The journey is a dangerous one, filled with pirates, and battles, and even sea monsters. And Emiline soon comes to realize that all is not exactly as she thought it was, and that no one she's met is exactly who she thought they were.

 
For Teachers and Librarians:
The Mousehunter is a book your students will love reading, and a book you will love for the many ways you can use it in your classes.

How about a character study? Have your students - either individually or in groups - create character trading cards for each character in the book, with an illustration of the character on one side, and on the other, list the character's motivations, personality traits, and the events in which the character has important roles, etc.

Have any map geeks in your students' midst? This story lends itself perfectly to some cartography fun: have them research maps and mapmaking from early times, and the beliefs of those who made the maps. Discuss how the cartographers' and society's beliefs dictated to some extent what went on a map (i.e. sea monsters, indications of the edge of the earth, etc.) Then have your students create a map of the world of The Mousehunter, complete with markings consistent with the beliefs of the characters and their society, notations of the places where important events occurred, and indications of the journeys taken in the book.

Pirates! No study of a piratey book is complete without some piratey lessons, now is it? Have your students compare/contrast Captain Drewshank with Captain Mousebeard, maybe presented with a skull-and-crossbones motif, or drawings of their respective ships. Complete a mini-unit on the seafaring life: types of pirate ships, parts of the ship, ship's crew and the duties of each (with special mention of the specialized crewmen created for this book's pirates), and maybe even some fun discussions/research concerning the naming of a pirate ship. And what about a quick discussion on pirates vs privateers? Cap off this mini-unit with small groups creating labeled models of Drewshank's and Mousebeard's ships, complete with crew. And of course, there's a curse. Great stuff can be found on pirates and their curse beliefs, given even a cursory bit of research. (Sorry. Couldn't help myself there...)

I'm running out of room, but there are so many more ways to go with this book: a unit on island life and its impact upon people who live there (great anthropology and/or societal connections here); the habits and behaviors of hobbyists and collectors; animal classification (Illustrated mouse trading cards! Or go one better: clay models of the mice, along with accompanying description cards.); science/scientific study of animals; animal classification/care/study; evolution/adaptation of animal species; politics and how it impacts people and society. So many ways to go. Which will you choose?

Other ideas? Feel free to list them in the comments.


For Parents, Grandparents and Caregivers:
Your kiddos will have a blast reading this book, and so will you. Besides being an exciting, mysterious, pirate-and-mouse-filled adventure, The Mousehunter has lots to think about. For example, the book has several characters who have various contradictions about them. Some are good guys with bad intentions, some are bad guys with good intentions. What is it that causes a person to be seen as "good" or "bad?" Actions? Behavior? Does how the person is perceived by others influence what/who they are? Or is it the other way around?

This book also explores themes of friendship, enemies, trust, and betrayal. How do you tell the difference between an enemy and a friend? Or is it not that black and white? Can a person be a little bit of both? What do you do when a friend that you trust lets you down? How do you feel, and what can you do about those feelings?

The Mousehunter is fun to read, with its pirates and unusual mice and such, but it also explores the sometimes complicated ways people relate to each other, and it hints that sometimes, people are not completely what they seem - which can be both good and not-so-good, depending on the situation. And don't we face things like that in real life every day? (Well, maybe not the pirates and the unusual mice...)


For the Kids:
If you like adventure on the high seas, and pirates, and mice, then this is the book for you. OK. I know what you're thinking: Did she just say high seas and pirates...and mice? Yes. Yes I did. But the seas and pirates and mice in The Mousehunter are not your average, run-of-the-mill seas and pirates and mice. Nope. See, there are seventeen seas in Emiline's world, for one thing. And for another, the pirates are mouse-obsessed - though in their defense, so is practically everybody else in their world. And the mice? Well, they're like no mice you've ever seen before - some are older than old, some are almost four feet tall, some are bloodsuckers, some have wings, and some even have magnetic noses. Throw into the mix a couple of clashing pirate captains, a very wealthy dude who isn't quite the upstanding citizen people believe him to be, and a mysterious long-ago curse, and you've got a book you will not want to put down. (So why are you still sitting here reading this? Shoo! Go find yourself a copy of The Mousehunter and get reading. Adventure awaits!)


Wrapping Up:
The Mousehunter is full of danger, intrigue, mystery, adventure, and tons of mouse-collecting, swashbuckling fun. It is a book not to be missed.


Title: The Mousehunter
Author and Illustrator: Alex Milway
Pages: 448
Reading Level: Ages 10-12
Publisher and Date: Little, Brown and Company, February 2009
Edition: First US Edition
Language: English
Published In: United States
Price: $15.99
ISBN-10: 0316024546
ISBN-13: 978-0-316-02454-9


 

Book Review: Fish, by Gregory Mone

     Uncle Gerry glared, one hand still holding the top of the purse. "This is important."
     "Yes, of course."
     "No," Uncle Gerry said, pausing. "This is very important."
     "I understand," Fish said.
     "You will deliver this to the Mary, a passenger ship docked in the harbor, bound for America. You will deliver it, specifically, to a certain Reginald Swift, who will be sailing on that ship."
     "Yes."
     "He is an uncommonly small man with uncommonly large eyeglasses. Aged about thirty years, a good few less than your father and myself. He is expecting you."  

Summary: Maurice "Fish" Reidy is eleven years old when Shamrock dies. Without their horse, the family can't afford to feed itself, let alone farm their land. Someone has to go into the city to work and send money home. Since Fish is the worst at farming, it's agreed he should be the one to go.

His father arranges for Fish to work for his uncle as a courier. When Fish is entrusted with a mysterious package of coins, he's robbed before he can make the delivery. He tracks down the thief amongst a bunch of pirates, aboard their ship, the Scurvy Mistress. Determined to get that package back and to its rightful recipient, Fish sneaks aboard and joins the pirate crew. He soon learns the coins are more than what they seem, and some of the crew are not as loyal as they'd have their captain believe.

As the Scurvy Mistress sets sail, Fish finds himself on an adventure he never saw coming, with friends he never imagined making. It's a journey that promises to change his life - and that of his family - forever.

For Teachers and Librarians:
Fish has all the action and excitement your reluctant readers are drawn to. It has all the complex twists and turns your stronger readers crave. And? It has pirates. And treasure. And mystery. And did I mention pirates?

So beyond being a great story your students will not be able to put down, how can you use this book in your classrooms? Under the umbrella of a full Pirate Unit, there is a treasure chest full of activities and mini-units you can choose from. Create an activity to compare and contrast the life of a farmer with the life of a pirate, or a sailor, or both. That will nicely set up a research activity on the life of a pirate: superstitions of pirates, swimming abilities (or not), ship's politics, the running of a pirate ship (jobs aboard ship, procedures followed), pirate's code, pirate-speak, etc. Present a mini-unit on types of ships used by pirates, and their pursuers: sloop, galleon, caravel, frigate, man-o-war, merchant, schooner, brigantine.

Sneak in some more history by having your students research real pirates from history. Let them work in groups and creatively present their findings. Your kids will have great fun with a mapping mini-unit: land maps, treasure maps, sea maps. (You can probably sneak in a literary map, or a character map here, too.) How about a code activity: creating them, then seeing if their classmates can crack them? And just for fun, try a pirate name activity. Have your kids create a chart of the pirate characters from the book, and why they have those names. Then let them create their own pirate names, with explanations, to use for an entire Pirate Day in the classroom.

This is by no means the bottom of that treasure chest. What gems can you come up with?

For Parents, Grandparents and Caregivers:
Fish is a book your kiddos will love to read. And so will you. It has pirates! It has treasure! It has action! It has intrigue! Scurvy pirates with odd names and even odder reasons for those names! It is an adventure from start to finish, and along the way, your kids will learn a little bit about ships, and pirate life, and family, and friendship, and loyalty, and being true to yourself. Read it aloud together, or each of you read it on your own, or a little of both. You'll be glad you did.

For the Kids:
Fish is a book about a boy from a farming family. Though Fish is no good with dirt, it turns out he's pretty good with water. When the family horse dies, Fish is sent to the city to earn money to send home. He becomes a courier, delivering important packages for his Uncle Gerry. One day, he's given a package of mysterious coins to deliver, but they're stolen from him. Fish tracks the thief to a pirate ship. That package must get to the right recipient, so Fish does the only thing he can think of to get it back - he sneaks aboard and joins the pirate crew. But how can a boy who, as author Gregory Mone says, "loves to swim and hates to fight," survive on a pirate ship?  

For Everyone Else:
Fish is fast-paced and action-packed. It has humor, and fact, and a great story. Plus? It has pirates. What more could you ask for?

Wrapping Up:
Fish is not your average pirate tale. Find. Read. Enjoy.

Title: Fish
Author: Gregory Mone
Cover Artist: Jake Parker
Pages: 246
Reading Level: 8 and up
Publisher and Date: Scholastic, Inc., January 2011
Edition: First Scholastic paperback printing
Language: English
Published In: United States
Price: $4.99
ISBN: 978-0-545-33335-1

Book Review: How I Became a Pirate, by Melinda Long

     When they landed, the head pirate climbed out of the boat and yelled, "Ahoy thar, matey! Be this the Spanish Main?"

     "No," I said, "this is North Beach."

     "Shiver me timbers!" the pirate said. "We must have taken a wrong turn at Bora Bora."

Summary:

Jeremy Jacob was just a boy building a sandcastle on the beach - until the day the pirates came. The pirates were in need of a digger to help bury their treasure. And the captain couldn't help but notice that "He's a digger, he is, and a good one to boot!" The crew heartily agreed, "A good one to boot!" And that is how Jeremy Jacob became a pirate.

For Teachers and Librarians:

Lots of choices here for how to use How I Became a Pirate, so take your pick! The main use is total enjoyment. Your littler guys and gals will delight in all the pirate-speak (so be sure to ham it up), and David Shannon's colorful and funny illustrations will pull them even further into the fun. Even some of the older kids will have a good time with this one. Pair it with a unit on pirates: have them research famous pirates, pirate hangouts and pirate behavior. Let them create a pirate-speak glossary - then let them illustrate it. Give them a big box of props, then let them dress up like pirates and use pirate phrases for a whole day, or act out a pirate skit based on some real pirates they've researched. What else can you come up with?

For Parents, Grandparents and Caregivers:

How I Became a Pirate is just plain fun! This book is perfect to read with the little ones - especially on International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Be sure to really play up the pirate speak, and encourage them to join you! Give your little guys scarves to tie around their heads, pirate style. Hide some little bags of treasure around the yard or house (plastic jewels, little dime store toys, coins, candies, etc.), and turn em' loose to go find their pirate booty! Even the kids who might think they're a bit old for all this foolishness won't be able to keep from cracking a smile and craning their necks to see David Shannon's fantastic illustrations.

For the Kids:

You will have so much fun reading this book, or having someone read it to you. Jeremy finds out all about pirate life when the captain hauls him aboard the ship. There is shouting and saying things like "landlubber" and "scurvy dog." There are no vegetables allowed, and certainly no manners. But there are no bedtime stories and no getting tucked in, either, which is a bit of a bummer. When a storm comes up and the captain and crew worry that there'll be no way to bury their treasure, Jeremy comes up with the perfect solution, and gets a cool souvenir out of the bargain as well.

Wrapping Up:

How I Became a Pirate is a fun, arrrrgh-filled pirate adventure that kids will be asking for over and over. Find your copy, hoist the Jolly Roger, grab a comfy spot to sit, and get reading!

Title: How I Became a Pirate

Author: Melinda Long

Illustrator: David Shannon

Pages: 44

Reading Level: Ages 4-8

Publisher and Date: Harcourt Inc., 2003

Edition: 1st

Language: English

Published In: United States

Price: $16.00

ISBN-10: 0152018484

ISBN-13: 978-0152018481

Get Ready - International Talk Like a Pirate Day is Almost Upon Us!

Avast, ye sorry land lubbers! Polish up yer pirate-speak, or come Friday ye'll be walkin' the plank, ye will. 'Cause September 19th be International Talk Like a Pirate Day (or ITLAPD, for short). 

And how, you may ask, did all this foolishness begin? With two guys from the Pacific Northwest playing racquetball (not well, by their own admission) back in June of 1995. Though they may go by Mark Summers and John Baur the other 364 days a year, on International Talk Like a Pirate Day they go by Cap'n Slappy and Ol' Chumbucket.

As they tell it, during this racquetball game, they "called out friendly encouragement" to each other in pirate slang. And on that very day, right on the court, they came up with Talk Like a Pirate Day, joking that Dave Barry should be their official spokesman, and even choosing September 19 as the official celebratory date. For the next seven years, these two friends - and their friend Brian Rhodes - celebrated Talk Like a Pirate Day all on their own...

...until early 2002, when John "chanced upon Dave Barry's email address." Well, to make a long story short, emails were exchanged and the idea was pitched. Then, on September 8 of that year, Dave Barry's weekly column was all about The Pirate Guys.

The result? The very first International Talk Like a Pirate Day was officially celebrated on September 19, 2002. It was a huge hit, and is now an annual event not to be missed. Cap'n Slappy and Ol' Chumbucket have written a couple of books together all related to pirating. They have appeared on national television, have videos on YouTube, and have performed live across the country.

The Pirate Guys even have The Official Talk Like a Pirate Day website - run by Mad Sally, AKA The Webwench, AKA Ol' Chumbucket's wife. Be aware, it's aimed at adults, mostly of the male persuasion, even though there are links and such that kids would have fun with, so check it out on your own first before you send your kiddos there. It's chock full of ITLAPD history, pirate links, pirate games and quizzes, an English-to-pirate translator, and links to pirate name generators, to name only a few. There's so much to do, it's far too much to list here. (My pirate name came up on various sites as Left Eye Lewie, Grainne O'Malley Mad Stubble, and Slippery Blair Blythe). 

And here's a special treat for anyone living in the Philadelphia, PA area: The Pirate Guys will actually be in Philly from Sept. 17-21. You can catch them at The Franklin Institute for a special Talk Like A Pirate Day appearance on the 19th from 6-8 PM, and then they say they'll be making appearances at other pirate gigs where they can. Too cool!

Aarrr, mateys! Brush up on yer pirate-speak, an' get yerself a good pirate name, 'cause September 19th be only a day or two away, and ye don't want ter be missin' out on International Talk Like a Pirate Day!