Pirates at the Plate

by Aaron Frisch, Mark Summers (Illustrator)

Overview

There's no telling what a game of baseball might bring—but it's not every day that an afternoon at the ballyard includes ball-launching cannons and shovel-wielding base thieves! In Pirates at the Plate, a story conceived and illustrated by artist Mark Summers, with text by Aaron Frisch, a ballgame turns into a one-of-a-kind showdown between cowboys and pirates. With stars such as a slugging Blackbeard and a hard-throwing Wild Bill Hickok, the great summer pastime becomes a rowdy adventure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781568462103
Publisher:	The Creative Company
Publication date:	08/29/2012
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Aaron Frisch is an editor and author whose picture books—published by Creative Editions—have received an IPPY Award Gold Medal, a Spur Award, and a finalist nomination for the Minnesota Book Awards.

Mark Summers has created artwork for numerous magazines, Barnes & Noble bookstores, and U.S. postage stamps. In 2000, he received the Society of Illustrators' coveted Hamilton King Award for best illustration of the year.

Editorial Reviews

Sure, the Pirates play for Pittsburgh and the Cowboys play (football) in Dallas, but Summers and Frisch have something else in mind: buccaneers versus cowherds in a rousing, rules-defying game of baseball. Several storied figures appear: Wild Bill (Hickok) and Hopalong Cassidy pitch for the Cowboys (Cassidy is seen literally "warming up in the bullpen," toasting his hands over a campfire, surrounded by steer). Summers both illustrated and conceived of his debut children's book—his dramatic scratchboard caricatures of authors graced the signage and shopping bags at Barnes & Noble for years—and his illustrations give the book a regal air, despite the mischief players on both teams get up to and the many puns Frisch employs. When a "big-bopping Bluebeard wait on deck, he's seen kneeling, baseball bat in hand, aboard a storm-tossed ship in an eerily majestic wordless spread. That somber mood doesn't last, though: on the next page, Long John (Silver) "blasts one deep to center field" using a cannon. It's a rip-roaring story, and even the twist ending doesn't diminish its sense of playfulness and fun. Ages 6–up. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Sure, the Pirates play for Pittsburgh and the Cowboys play (football) in Dallas, but Summers and Frisch have something else in mind: buccaneers versus cowherds in a rousing, rules-defying game of baseball. Several storied figures appear: Wild Bill (Hickok) and Hopalong Cassidy pitch for the Cowboys (Cassidy is seen literally "warming up in the bullpen," toasting his hands over a campfire, surrounded by steer). Summers both illustrated and conceived of his debut children's book-his dramatic scratchboard caricatures of authors graced the signage and shopping bags at Barnes & Noble for years-and his illustrations give the book a regal air, despite the mischief players on both teams get up to and the many puns Frisch employs. When a "big-bopping Bluebeard wait[s] on deck, he's seen kneeling, baseball bat in hand, aboard a storm-tossed ship in an eerily majestic wordless spread. That somber mood doesn't last, though: on the next page, Long John (Silver) "blasts one deep to center field" using a cannon. It's a rip-roaring story, and even the twist ending doesn't diminish its sense of playfulness and fun. Ages 6-up. -Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Cowboys and Pirates aren't just team names in this brangle on the base paths. With the "score knotted at 47 runs" each in the 22nd inning, Long John Silver uncorks a long fly to center: "The Cisco Kid's gonna have to giddy-up if he wants to catch this ball!" Using scratchboard with oil glazes, Summers portrays melodramatically posed figures in lavishly detailed costuming. He even mounts both infielders and outfielders on charging horses and gives literal expression to such terms as "on deck" (ship's deck, that is) and "bullpen." It looks like the stage is set for a rousing, benches-clearing brawl after Silver's attempt to steal second base and the ensuing exchange of insults ("Yer boys play like Barbies," sneers the Pirates' captain, Capt. Hook). Thankfully, a summons to dinner forces the lad who has been heretofore invisibly orchestrating it all to reluctantly abandon his suddenly tiny action figures. "Another game called on account of spaghetti." Aarrrgh. Or conversely, yup, git along. Good fun, regardless of the dialect. (Picture book. 5-7)

Kirkus Reviews