Book Review: Pirates in the Library – by Nadia Ali

Book: Pirates in the Library
Author: Nadia Ali
Illustrator: Jake Tebbit
Publisher: Star Bright Books
Date: November 30, 2016
Genre: children's picture book; age 5-8; Pre-school-3
Pages: 40
Price: $16.83 hardcover
My rating: a delightful story to encourage interest in the 
library

Pirates in the Library by Nadia Ali is a delightful story to encourage interest in the library, starting with that title.

Ms. Benitez, the librarian, thought of a way to get people interested in visiting the library. She sketched out a treasure map, made copies of it, and stacked them on her desk by an open window. The map was the Dread Pirate Dewey’s decimal map and showed how to find his treasure. 

A storm came up and out the window blew many of her maps! Out on the wild waves was Captain Jake, and one of Ms. Benitez’s maps stuck right on his face.  Of course, once he saw what it was, he was determined to find the treasure.

Fierce Captain Jake, his bold pirate crew, and their parrot too, came looking for the treasure. Ms. Benitez happily welcomed them, warning them not to shout or squawk, but to be quiet, and then directed them to rows and rows of “treasure.” Captain Jake was aghast that there were no rubies or diamonds or doubloons! Only books! Many books. When he realized all his crew had disappeared Captain Jake suspected the Dread Pirate Dewey had captured them, but then he found them all reading books about things that interested them, such as … cooking, navigating by the stars, learning to take charge, biographies, fiction, sports, and even the parrot was looking at a book of pictures of birds.

At the very end of the story … well, that’s funny, too. You’ll have to read it for yourself.

The fabulous illustrations for Pirates in the Library were created by Jake Tebbit and add depth to the story. The way Nadia Ali told the story is entertaining, with repetition in such a way that adds to the humour. 

Pirates in the Library is an enjoyable book for children and the adults who read to them. In the back of the book is the Dewey decimal system – which shows how it is worked out. Also, the end pages are fun with maps and X marking the spot where the treasure can be found.

You can find Pirates in the Library by Nadia Ali on my BUY THE BOOK page. I also post my reviews on Goodreads, and when available on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, and Chapters.Indigo.

Your comments are greatly appreciated by authors, illustrators, and this blogger. ♥

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings!  🙂