Trick Arrr Treat: A Pirate Halloween

Multiethnic trick-or-treaters dressed as pirates conquer the streets of their suburban neighborhood, led by chief pirate Charlotte Blue-Tongue, who wields a blue lollipop and a glowing jack-o'-lantern. "Pirates sticking out their tongues,/ shrieking with their pirate lungs," reads Kimmelman's playfully assured verse, which is punctuated with pirate exclamations ("Fill my belly!" "Rot my teeth!"). The pirates' nighttime roving eventually takes them aboard a pirate ship, but a "Big black monster, sly and cunning,/ gets the frightened pirates running" (the monster turns out to be a friendly dog). Back at the pirate chief's house, "scurvy scoundrels have a party,/ playing games and laughing hearty," with fellow neighbors dressed as aliens, ninjas, and more. Lit with sunset shades of pink and purple, Monlongo's illustrations conjure a cinematic sense of theatricality while capturing the visceral excitement of fully escaping into character on Halloween. Ages 4-7. (Sept.)

K-Gr 2—Children will love to dress up like a pirate, gather their "loot," and yell, "Trick Arrr Treat!" after reading Kimmelman's pirate-themed Halloween tale. Six children are going out on Halloween night for a trick-or-treating adventure. Before leaving, they promise not to be sweet but to yell, "Trick Arrr Treat." The kids' imaginations start to run wild as they make their way through the neighborhood. The illustrations are rendered in a cartoonish style and add an extra layer that will enable readers' imagination to soar. VERDICT A first-choice purchase for a different spin in Halloween-themed storytimes.—Patrick Tierney, Dr. Martin Luther King Elementary School, Providence, RI