Edward and the Pirates written and illustrated by David McPhall

I enjoyed this book very much. It was exactly how I feel every time I sit down and read a book. I appreciated the creativity of different stories Edward (protagonist) brings to life. I found this book very enjoyable to read. I felt like this book would inspire children to read more because they too would want to experience the adventures that Edward gets to go on every time he reads a book.

This book does a very good job of showing more than telling. He still will at times tell, but for the most part David McPhall shows what Edward feels. It does fall short compared to other books for sensory details. It has its fare amount but there are certain places where it could add more. For example at one point in the text McPhall uses the line “Edward sat up and looked around and saw he was surrounded by pirates!” He never describes the pirates. He could say something like “Edward sat up and looked around to see golden teethed men, with golden earrings, shabby jackets and long cutlasses strapped to their belt. They leaned in closer and Edward could smell the sea on their jackets and the stench of men who have not showered for some time.” This would make the scene much more moving for younger readers. The story itself seems to rely upon the illustrations for the detailed descriptions. This could be because McPhall illustrates his own books and knows that he can count on the illustrations for this.

The illustrations do this very well. They look like paintings and one can see the brushstrokes on many of the illustrations. They also use many muted tones to help set the mood of traveling into different worlds of the imagination. The illustrations add detailed asides to the story. This book talks about Edward retrieving books, however, the illustrations shows him not only picking out a book from the library but also pirates hiding behind the shelves watching him. Although the words do not describe the pirates the illustrations allows the child to see them for him/herself. This book would be great to use before students visit a library.

 It introduces several different genres of books that might help a child pick out the type of book they want to read. If I was teaching the class I would like to do a small unit on different types of books and have this one be one of the books I read to the class about books. I could also use this book to discuss why so many people love to read. What reading can do as an incentive for the students to pick up a book.

Published: 1997