How I Became a Pirate

This fun-filled, adventure fantasy about pirate life is perfect for any imaginative child. It was even selected by child judges as the winner of the 2003 Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature. Set in contemporary times, the adventure begins when five or six-year-old Jeremy Jacobs runs off with 18th century pirates who have landed on the beach. Jeremy's delight in his adventures with Captain Braid Beard and his bedraggled crew of ruffians is obvious from the colorful, humorous, cartoon style illustrations. (They are similar to those in Shannon's own No David! book and its sequels). Brimming with amusing situations and characters, the illustrations match the tone and content of Long's story perfectly. A great example is the cover where Jeremy sits gleefully on the Captain's shoulders with a pirate scarf atop his head and the Captain's parrot on his own shoulder. A lesson that "the grass isn't always greener on the other side" is provided when Jeremy begins to realize the things he misses aboard the pirate ship (i.e., being read a bedtime story and then tucked in). Highly recommended for ages 4 to 8. I just HAD to get this book for my niece - a Peter Pan lover - for her 7th Birthday and now I'm somewhat sad that I'll no longer have it around! Perhaps I'll have to buy another for myself! Another great, amusing pirate adventure is "Roger, the Jolly Pirate" (2004), by Brett Helquist (ISBN 0066238064).

I love this book, second time I’ve purchased it. I love the sound effects of the pirates, it makes the book fun to read with children. It’s a short, but not too short, of a story and the illustrations are awesome.

I bought this for my 3 1/2 year old grandson and he loved it. Whenever Grammy comes to visit I try to have scoured Amazon.com for what look like the best children's books and as he had loved David Shannon's books I bought this one as I knew the illustrations would be colorful. It is a fun story but the best part, it lends itself so well to playing imaginatively. Immediately after reading it, we went outside and I played cartographer helping my grandson draw our own treasure map with instructions how to get to the tree in his backyard where we buried a seashell. He was so excited to show his Mommy and his baby brother how well the map worked and where our treasure was buried. Great little story and we read it several times over the next few days...always noticing something else in the pictures we hadn't seen before and then making up our own stories about what we saw. So I bought "Pirates Don't Change Diapers" also and pirate tattoos to continue the saga. Lots of scope for the imagination here!

My family and I loved this book when my girls were young! The illustrations and color are amazing, and the story is totally entertaining!! we recently got this book for my grandnephew and his Mom says he loves it!

Both of my young sons love pirate stories and they took to this one quickly, although the book needed some parental editing. Two problems: Jeremy Jacob takes off without telling his parents -- I reinforced with my kids that Jeremy shouldn't leave with the pirates without asking his mother or father. The author perpetuates an unhealthy attitude towards children eating vegetables, with Jeremy happily announcing that he won't have to eat either spinach or carrots aboard the pirate ship. One positive: Jeremy Jacob comes to realize that living like as a pirate means there isn't someone to read him bedtime stories or hold him close when he is scared. Overall, this is a fun bedtime book but be careful you're not teaching your children bad behaviors and habits along the way.

Perfect gift for my 5 year old grandson who loves pirates !! Pictures are big which draws children into the story 🥰

I've probably read this book a few hundred times between my 2 kids. Both of them loved it, and I often suggested it. It's one of those few kids books that you can tolerate and enjoy a few hundred times, until you don't really need to look at the words anymore. I found it to be an amusing story with an charming ending that values parents. The drawings weren't my favorite but they've grown on me after time. I'm reviewing this now, years after my children have outgrown it, so I can buy it for my niece and nephew. Worth every penny.

It's hard to say what's more endearing and fun: the engaging text or the clever (and amazingly detailed) illustrations. Most children's books are OK, a few are totally lame, but a very few are simply super and do not fade even with the 100th re-reading: this is one of those that stays funny and will be handed down from boy to boy in this family. Can't say enough about the illustrations, there's so much to look for: the pirate who wears TWO eyepatches (and is always holding one up except when he goes to bed), the other mean pirate who wears pajamas, the way the parrot and the scurvy cat eye eachother with suspicion, the wild look on the boy Jeremy Jacob's face (it's a true to life wild look of a real boy!). Anyway, this is highly recommended.

Love this book and so does my kid. I read it every night before bed. You must read it with a low voice and slightlt British accent to get the full effect. Written for a 4 year old to understand but advanced enough for an adult to read and not feel like it's too simple.

My 5 year old loves this. He's pirate mad and loved the idea of the little boy joining the pirates but missing home. Very colourful, fun illustrations and interesting text. Great for any pirate fan (and a good story even if for a landlubber).,

El libro llegó rápido y en perfectas condiciones. Trabajo con niños pequeños y les encantó su lectura y las imágenes.

Absolutely incredible customer service. I bought this book after listening to it for months for my son's World book day. Due to time constraints I contacted the supplier who dispatched the book at an upgraded service at no extra cost. The moment my son saw the book he started reading it straight away and has not dropped it. The book is a pleasurable read and with lots of catch words young adventurers would enjoy. Thanks loads I definitely would be buying from this supplier again.

The illustrations are really nice, but the story falls short. My son likes looking at the pictures, but the story doesn't inspire imagination or spark an emotion that would make him request the book for story time.