Children's Book Monday

Edward and the Pirates
by David McPhail

This is a reading book about... reading! It is just perfect for little boys and girls who love to really *dive* into a story. It would also be beneficial for cultivating that same love in young ones who aren't as keen about reading. Yet.

Edward loves to read, and does so at every possible moment. Cereal boxes at the breakfast table, seed catalogs in winter, and all kinds of books. He especially likes adventure, and imagines himself in the stories; racing with Admiral Peary by dogsled to the North Pole and rescuing Robin Hood from the Sheriff of Nottingham. Sometimes, though, his reading seems too real, like the time he looks out his window and thinks he actually sees a tyrannosaurus!

When Edward finds a book on pirates, he devours it. He reads late into the night when he is suddenly visited by the same pirates - and they are demanding that he give them the book! When Edward refuses, (at least until he has turned it in on his library card to avoid a fine), some amazing things happen. My boys were definitely thinking, If only!

The acrylic paintings in this book are gorgeous- and truly pull your child into the story. Eliana wouldn't let us turn the pages until she had looked at everything there was to see! And the boys played pirates for hours on end the next few days... actually, that's no different than normal, but I think this book kindled some new twists in their own tales!

Check this out for your not-quite-reading readers, your new readers, and especially your readers-who-could-care-less-about-reading-in-general - they will love it!

Happy Reading!