How I Became a Pirate
Author: Melinda Long; Illustrator: David Shannon
Young Jeremy Jacob, expert sandcastle maker, is minding his own business on the beach one day when Braidbeard the Pirate and his scurvy crew row ashore. When Braidbeard spots Jeremy’s digging skills (his castle has quite a moat), he recruits the young lad to help him bury his treasure.
Jeremy quickly finds that he likes the pirate life. He doesn’t have to eat his vegetables (there aren’t any on board), he doesn’t have to say please or thank you, and bed time is just a fading memory.
But great as it is, there’s a downside to being a bucaneer. Pirates don’t read bedtime stories, nor do they tuck little boys into bed (No Tucking! is the rule.). Jeremy finally decides that the pirate life isn’t for him after all when a scary storm whips up and cracks the ship’s mast in half.
Not wanting to leave his new friends high-and-dry, Jeremy offers a simple solution to their treasure problem by helping them find a safe (and conveniently close) place to bury the chest of gold.
The true joy in a book illustrated by David Shannon lies in his hilariously detailed pictures. How I Became A Pirate is no exception.
David Shannon’s illustrations are a riot. From the comically hulking pirate with sail-boat PJs to the soccerball chomping shark, the illustrations add a depth to the story that carry it far beyond words. They draw children into the book, enticing them to look for more and more details, and to notice changes in each character from scene to scene (like the pirate whose eyepatches are different on every page). Since so much of learning to read has to do with noticing picture details, books like this one with really great illustrations make for particularly good kindergarten reading.
These detailed, story-telling images are a joy by themselves, but add to them a funny story, with plot twists and perfectly timed dialog, and the book becomes an enchanting read, as well. Throughout the pages, Braidbeard speaks to his crew, only to have them chant it back in large, bold letters. Kids in my class routinely mimic my pirate voice (you simply cannot read this book without one), reading back to me the pirate crew’s words with enthusiastic ‘Arrr!s’ and ‘Aye!s’ When kids are that involved in a book, it’s a safe bet they’re learning something, too.
Add to all of this the book’s subtle message (the life of a kid is a pretty good life) and the suggestion that perhaps Jeremy is making all this up (what kid hasn’t fantasized about pirates), and you’ve got a really fun children’s book with a ton of learning opportunities built right in.
Read-Aloud Tips
- Be sure to use your best pirate voice when Braidbeard and his crew speak. Not only does it get kids into the book, but it also demonstrates the fact that stories are made of both exposition and dialog.
Comprehension Questions
Pre-reading
- Read the title and look at the picture on the cover. Who do you think is going to tell this story?
- Do you think the boy is going to like being a pirate? Why or why not?
Post-reading
- Look at the title page and last page of the story, where Jeremy is playing pirate and dressed in his soccer uniform. Think about the treasure map and where Jeremy buried the pirate treasure. Do you think the events in this story really happened, or did Jeremy make it all up?
- Where in your back yard would you bury Braidbeard’s treasure?
Literacy Activities
Writing
- Imagine you met Braidbeard the Pirate and he took you on his ship. What sort of things would you do? Would you like being a pirate? Draw a picture of you and Braidbeard and write a sentence using letter sounds about what you would do aboard his ship.
Parents: Encourage your child to think ‘outside the book.’ If they suggest ideas from the story itself, try to get them to think of things Jeremy Jacob didn’t do, but that they would like to do with pirates anyway.
Phonemic Awareness
- Arr…You Ready To Rhyme? Pretend that you are a crew of pirates. The pirate captain bellows a word and the crew must bellow a word that rhymes, as in…
Let crew members take turns providing rhyming words, and be sure to pepper the game with lots of Aye!s, Arr-Be-Garrs, and Ahoy-Matey!s.
Phonics
- P-p-p-PIRATE! ‘Pirate’ is a pretty memorable word for most kindergarteners, so it makes a great opportunity for kids to remember and master the letter Pp.
Fold a peice of paper into four (4) boxes. Invite your child to to think of things that start with the letter P, as in pirate. As they/you think of things, have your child draw them in the boxes. - Letter Hunt: Go through the story text looking for Ps. Have your child place pennies in a ‘treasure chest’ every time they find one.
Fun
- Act it out! One great way to do this is to make a paper pirate hat like the one Jeremy Jacob has on the title page of the story. Kid Craft Central has a lesson plan for making paper hats.
Now don your hats and act out your child’s favorite part of the story. Fun choices might include eating dinner on the pirate’s ship, or being aboard the ship during the storm. - Buried Treasure! No discussion of a pirate book would be complete without talking about ‘buried treasure.’ Invite your child to gather some ‘treasures’ in a coffee tin or pencil box. Decorate the box and bury it in the backyard. Be sure to help them draw a map to keep in their room!
If you found these activity ideas helpful, please consider supporting our site by using this link to purchase How I Became a Pirate at Amazon.
ryan » May 30th, 2008 at 7:39 pm »
Interessante Informationen.
lieben » March 3rd, 2009 at 5:17 am »