Pirate Diary Journal of Jake Carpenter

Rating:
Summary: Great Bed-Time or Read-Aloud Story
Review: "Princess, Princess" is a re-telling of the fairy-tale, "Sleeping Beauty." The story begins with a flashback of the princess and her fairy friends in a deep sleep. The reader is asked, "Who will wake the princess with a kiss?" Then, the story unfolds. The princess has a birthday party and invites all the fairies, but one lone fairy. The hurt and angry fairy casts a spell on the group causing them to fall into a deep sleep. the castle, forest, and the surrondings that were once alive with life, move into a sweet slumber. Seeing the princess and her friends asleep, we are taken back to the traditional tale of "Sleeping Beauty," with an added-twist of fairies replacing humans and reconciliation on the spell. This story would be an excellent bed-time story or read-aloud.
Penny Dale multi-tasks as the author and the illustrator in this story. The illustrations are soft-pastels that grow more ellaborate throughout the story and compliment the text. The text has repetition of action verbs that will help the child become familar with written print and vocabulary, through recognizing sight words. This story is suitable for children in primary grades. Overall, Penny Dale has done an excellent job in portraying the classic version of "Sleeping Beauty" in this new and exciting re-telling.

Rating:
Summary: Good Early Read
Review: A good read for young children with an interest in pirates. Written in diary fashion, it makes a good story to read to a child at bedtime with lots of convenient places to stop. The author uses a good deal of nautical terminology, but does a good job of explaining it all within the context of story.

The story revolves around the diary of a young boy off to sea for his first time. He ends up with pirates when his ship is captured and after a few adventures returns home to accept a pardon. Richard Platt has authored several children's books about pirates and does justice to the reality of life at sea and with pirates without getting too graphic.

The illustrations are entertaining pen drawings that contribute to the story, although the style takes a bit of getting used to (I'm still not sure I like it). The book also includes a brief overview of the history of piracy and some famous pirates. The index also doubles as a glossary of some of the terms used. P-)

Rating:
Summary: Good Early Read
Review: A good read for young children with an interest in pirates. Written in diary fashion, it makes a good story to read to a child at bedtime with lots of convenient places to stop. The author uses a good deal of nautical terminology, but does a good job of explaining it all within the context of story.

The story revolves around the diary of a young boy off to sea for his first time. He ends up with pirates when his ship is captured and after a few adventures returns home to accept a pardon. Richard Platt has authored several children's books about pirates and does justice to the reality of life at sea and with pirates without getting too graphic.

The illustrations are entertaining pen drawings that contribute to the story, although the style takes a bit of getting used to (I'm still not sure I like it). The book also includes a brief overview of the history of piracy and some famous pirates. The index also doubles as a glossary of some of the terms used. P-)