If you are like me you are finding yourself in a zoom meeting or two. Our family has started weekly meetings during this time of sheltering at home and someone came up with the great idea of building forts. We planned, constructed, and decorated our forts which had to be large enough to hold two people. The forts were fantastic – especially the ones done by the engineers in the family. So, when I learned about the book I am sharing today, I knew it would be a new family favorite.
THE FORT
by Laura Perdew (author) and Adelina Lirius (illustrator)
Page Street Kids 2020
Picture book for ages 4-8
Setting: a fort in the woods
Themes: friendship, imagination, resolving conflict
The story begins…
As the prince strutted toward his castle,
he daydreamed about the royal feast he was planning.
He imagined music and food and fun with friends.
But when he crossed over the moat to begin
decorating, the prince discovered that the castle
Was not at all like he’d left it.
He discovered a map and an eye-patch that did not belong there at all. A pirate had invaded his castle!
The next day, a pirate went to her ship imagining the journey she would take only to discover that someone else had been aboard and left unwanted royal things.
Eventually the fateful day comes when the prince arrives at his castle and the pirate shows up. A shouting match ensues as the prince defends his castle and the pirate threatens to make him walk the gangplank.
When the prince declares that he’d rather go to the moon than be on the pirate ship, the two adversaries look at the for and realize that it would make a perfect space ship and they work together to build what they need to explore space.
Why you should add THE FORT to your shelves:
- This story cleverly shows how a fort can be anything an imaginative child wants it to be.
- The story language is rich and fun with princely speech and pirate vocabulary.
- This is a good example of how children can compromise when they disagree. These children work out their differences on their own without adult interference.
- The illustrations are filled with so many beautiful touches that perfectly depict each child and how they view their fort.
- This is a picture book that children will want to read and reread and then will be inspired to build their own fort.
Author Laura Perdew was kind enough to write a postcard to readers of THE FORT:
Join the Discussion!