SuitabookDon’t Disturb the Pirate
Rhiannon Findlay
- Reading
- Read it aloud with time for children to respond to the prompts and inspect the pictures. Before bedtime, explain that pirate warnings are part of playful make-believe, then pause if the sounds or suspense become too intense.
- Themes
- Helping with a search: The reader is invited to help find Patch, the puppy who has gone missing, while the search moves through a pirate-themed setting. Participation and persistence are built into the book’s interactive search structure, though the wider consequences of the search are not known.
- Pirate adventure as play: The adventure uses a skull-shaped island, named pirate locations, pirate language, cannon sounds and familiar motifs including walking the plank. Pirate conventions appear to function as playful adventure material, but warnings and the eventual encounter add suspense rather than presenting an entirely calm setting.
- Worth knowing
- Pay attention to how the story handles the pirate encounter and the missing puppy. The warnings, pirate sounds and motifs such as walking the plank may create suspense, although the encounter’s outcome is not stated here.