PPBF: Pirates vs. Cowboys

Author: Aaron Reynolds
Illustrator: David Barneda
Publisher: Knopf, 2013
Age: 3-7
Themes: pirates, cowboys, language

Opening: see image under “summary”.

Summary: (from my library’s catalog) A scurvy pirate crew, led by Burnt Beard, finds trouble when they try to hide their treasure in Old Cheyenne and have some miscommunication with Black Bob McKraw and his posse.

I picked this book because: I do love the illustrations (and all that white space!) and character designs, but I really admire a story conflict built off language and miscommunication! And the pirate and cowboy jargon is hilarious! And for younger ears it will be fine to not be able to understand the colorful language just as the main characters do not.

Resources/activities: great unit resource on language and communication, and to start a discussion on the difference between languages, dialogues, accents, etc. I will be reviewing another pirate book soon once I have my very own copy, but I would suggest reading it too as it is already available: The Monster in the Briny, written by Lynn Becker and illustrated by Scott Brundage.

For more Perfect Picture Book Friday picks with teacher/parent resources, check out the list on Susanna Hill’s blog HERE.