A Pirate’s Mother Goose

Everyone is familiar with Mother Goose Rhymes but they are overly familiar and rather outdated. There are a number of revised versions and today I’d like to share my new favorite:

 

 

A PIRATE’S MOTHER GOOSE
by Nancy I Sanders (author) and Colin Jack (illustrator)
Albert Whitman Publishing
Poetry for ages 4-8
Setting – the open sea and islands

In this rollicking book of verse, pirate fans can walk the plank, dance a jig, and sail the seven seas. Each of the twenty-two rhymes are creatively based on the originals which the author identifies. There’s parrot Pretty Polly Pirate who “squawks through the locks” warning children about “pirates at the docks” and the mate who plays his fiddle in a nod to Hey, Diddle, Diddle.

The vocabulary is rich and humorous pirate phrases. Children will enjoy learning and saying words like hardtack, hoist, and scalawag. The bright and cheerful illustrations show a diverse variety of skin tones and male and female pirates of different ages.

I love maps so I really appreciate the end-pages:

A PIRATE’S MOTHER GOOSE is perfect for “Talk Like a Pirate Day” as well as a great addition to elementary classroom poetry collections. I highly recommend this jaunty collection of verse for read-aloud fun.

There also is a great teacher guide available:

Check out the author’s website to learn more about Nancy I. Sanders.