3: Ahoy, mates!! All aboard for fun times!
If vampires don't wear polka-dots, and genies don't ride bicycles, then a pirate certainly wouldn't be caught wearing pink sunglasses, would he??Welcome to book #9 in the Bailey School Kid's series (which I affectionately call the "...Don't..." series for it's wonderful titles of mythical/magical creatures who don't do something or other). This time the kids are off (again!) to camp Lone Wolf (originally visited in book #2, Werewolves Don't Go to Summer Camp). Every year they take place in a rowing competition, and every year they are trounced. That is, maybe until THIS year when Captain Read shows up! And what a character the Captain is! He sports a striped shirt and dewrag like a real pirate, and even has an obnoxious parrot that spouts bits of wisdom and seems to be spying on the gang. Read seems to know a great deal about an ancient buried treasure that a mad female pirate had buried around Bailey City somewhere. Some kids even begin to think he IS a pirate. But, if he WAS, he wouldn't be wearing those giant pink sunglasses, would he...?? WOULD he...?? I've reviewed the other books leading up to this one, and again I must say that the "...Don't..." series is a fine choice for beginning/intermediate readers. The pace of the text is quick, easy to read (I can polish off one of these books in about 20 minutes) and fun. While not spooky like some others in this series, "Pirates Don't..." is a lot of fun. One can just hear Captain Read growling in a guttural Irish/sea shanty sort of voice as he calls out "ahoy!" and all that piratical stuff (this would make a good selection for reading aloud simply for the chance to make fun voices). As per usual in the series, Eddie doesn't believe Captain Read is a pirate or is in search of buried treasure, and children could easily copy him and make a game out of arguing if or if not the Captain really IS a pirate. This is a good deal of the series' appeal, I think: the small group of students who seem to be the only ones who notice anything weird going on and their investigations into whether or not these strange folk are what they might be (a vampire, werewolf, ghost, pirate, etc...). Although the series is in numerical order (as of this writing, it goes up to at least 40), and though some characters make reappearances, it isn't necessary to begin reading at any given point to enjoy the series. Grab one or two (including "Pirates Don't...") and see if YOU too, aren't hooked!!
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