Roger, the Jolly Pirate

by Brett Helquist, Brett Helquist (Illustrator)

Overview

Roger is too jolly to be a pirate.

He does not scowl, growl, or strike fear into sailors' hearts like his pirate friends. So poor Roger is sent away whenever there is any real pirating to be done. Then one day, in the middle of a great battle, Jolly Roger cooks up a wonderful idea . . . and pirate ships will never be the same again!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780064438513
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/08/2007
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,026,103
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.00(d)
Lexile:	AD730L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Brett Helquist's celebrated art has graced books from the charming Bedtime for Bear, which he also wrote, to the New York Times–bestselling A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket to the glorious picture book adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.

Brett Helquist's celebrated art has graced books from the charming Bedtime for Bear, which he also wrote, to the New York Times–bestselling A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket to the glorious picture book adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.

Editorial Reviews

Told with a rhythm and bounce that begs to be read aloud. A rousing and humorous tale.” — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

Brett Helquist, illustrator for Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, sets sail with this swashbuckling picture book about a positive-thinking pirate. Captured in dramatic scenes of patch-eyed, stern-looking pirates always ready for fighting, Helquist's tale centers around Roger, a "lousy pirate" whose chipper demeanor means banishment below deck when there's pillaging to be done. So when justice-seeking British officers decide to overtake the ship, the aptly named "Jolly Roger" decides to help out in the only way he knows how -- to bake a cake. Unfortunately, Roger's iron pot is actually a cannon, and when he lights the wick to get the baking started, the exploding ingredients send a flour-and-soot-faced Roger into battle and the Brits jumping for safety. A witty read that will go particularly well in storytimes with Melinda Long and David Shannon's How I Became a Pirate, this seafaring romp might leave you in stitches the next time you see a pirate's flag.

bn.com

PreS-Gr 3-Roger, a "lousy pirate," is derisively given the nickname "Jolly Roger" by his shipmates. Although he tries to be a proper buccaneer, he is inevitably sent below deck whenever there is serious marauding to be done. When the Admiral attacks the ship, Roger is once again sent to the hold. In an attempt to win the favor of his crewmates, he bakes a cake in a cannon he mistakes for a pot. The explosive result-Roger flying above deck amid flour, smoke, and powder, looking exactly like a screaming skeleton-sends the Admiral's men leaping off their vessel convinced that the pirates have a ghost on their side. In recognition of his feat, his shipmates stitch up a flag that has gone down in history as the "Jolly Roger." This goofy pourquoi tale is told with a rhythm and bounce that begs to be read aloud. Helquist uses cinematic perspectives and compositions in his watercolor, pencil, and pastel illustrations-extreme close-ups, split-screen glimpses, and sweeping full-bleed vistas are interspersed with views akin to peeping through a telescope. His success at capturing motion in many of the pictures adds to the movielike quality of the art. Pirate lovers and children who enjoy a good adventure will relish the climactic battle scene. A rousing and humorous tale.-Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha's Public Library, WI Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Helquist takes a break from illustrating "A Series of Unfortunate Events" for a solo debut, offering an eye-rolling account of the pirate flag's origin. Dubbed "Jolly Roger" by his shipmates-and "they didn't' mean it nicely"-an inept pirate is sent belowdecks when the ship is attacked by a British Man-O-War. In an effort to increase his social standing, Roger decides to bake a cake in an unused cannon-so when he blasts into sight, a ragged figure covered with white flour and burnt powder, the frightened attackers flee, and his grateful chums sew up a flag in his honor. Sporting a gap-toothed grin, argyle socks, and a chicken on his shoulder, Roger's definitely a misfit among his scowling, beetle-browed mates, but then, looks-not to mention a continuing inability to tell "the starboard from the larboard, the windward from the leeward, or the mizzen from the main"-aren't everything. A bit of spindrift for young pirate fans, capped by a brief ballad (not seen). (Picture book. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews