Pirates and Privateers

1001 Pirate Things to Spot
By Rob Lloyd Jones
Illustrated by Teri Gower
EDC Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7945-1513-3, US $9.99

Pirates fight, party, and search for treasure. What better way to demonstrate this than for readers to join the fun? Within the pages of this book pirates-in-training see what it’s like to live on a ship, feast at the captain’s table, attack another vessel, careen a ship, visit a safe haven, attend pirate school, participate in pirate races, explore an island of buried treasure, go to a pirate party, encounter monsters of the deep, interact with pirate ghosts, experience a storm at sea, and explore a shipwreck on the bottom of the ocean.

In addition to these adventures, readers must search for Jack. Clad in a yellow shirt with red polka dots and blue pants with patches on both knees, he is a cabin boy aboard the pirate ship. As he goes from scene to scene he collects treasure. At the end of the book, readers must locate the booty he assembles.

This fun search-and-find book is filled with surprises! The colorful illustrations are crammed with details and humor that keep readers transfixed for hours. Each double-page spread has a list of names and pictures of things to find within the drawing, and how many the reader should find. Some are a snap to locate, but others are so carefully hidden that I had to ask for my husband’s help! This is a delightful, entertaining book that belongs in the collection of every pirate no matter his/her age.