Uncle Pirate to the Rescue

by Douglas Rees, Tony Auth (Illustrator)

Overview

A badly spelled message in a bottle addressed to Uncle Pirate appears at Wilson’s front door, and Mom starts baking bad news pie—this can’t be good. Uncle Pirate’s formerly mutinous crew is marooned on an island! Though Uncle Pirate is loyal to his new crew at Very Elementary, he cannot desert his old shipmates and sets off to find them. But when he doesn’t return, it’s Uncle Pirate who needs rescuing! Wilson, Captain Jack the penguin, Ms. Quern the school secretary, and sneaky Principal Purvis set off in a blimp to save the day in this rollicking read that’s ideal for adventurous young readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416975052
Publisher:	Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication date:	04/06/2010
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	570L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Douglas Rees is a librarian who resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is also the author of Grandy Thaxter's Helper, Uncle Pirate and Uncle Pirate to the Rescue, as well as two novels for older readers, Lightning Time and Vampire High. Visit him online at DouglasRees.com.

Tony Auth has been the editorial cartoonist for the Philadelphia Enquirer since 1971. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his work in 1976, as well as five Overseas Press Club Awards and the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Distinguished Service in Journalism. His cartoons are distributed around the world by Universal Press Syndicate.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 3–6—This hilarious sequel to Uncle Pirate (S & S, 2008) begins with an ominous message in a bottle that sends Wilson's uncle off on an adventure to rescue his formerly mutinous crew who are being held captive on a tropical island. When he doesn't return, Wilson's fifth-grade class from Jolly Roger Elementary, along with cranky Principal Purvis and a talking penguin named Captain Jack, set off in a blimp to rescue him. Adventures include a trip to Tahiti, the making of Wingtip Winder sneakers, a spur-of-the-moment plan, buried treasure, and a trip to the mall. Auth's illustrations lend depth to the comedic elements and pirate analogies throughout the story. Avid and reluctant readers alike will be enchanted and hoping to find their own mutinous crew to rescue. Aye aye Matey!—Wendy E. Dunn, Fort Worth Public Library, TX

School Library Journal

Wilson's life is ship-shape now that his Uncle Pirate is the commander of Jolly Roger Elementary. But in this sequel to Uncle Pirate (2009), when a note arrives in a bottle for "Captin Desprit Evel Wiked Bob" from his former mutinous and now marooned crew, away he goes to help. Worried when the postcards stop arriving, Wilson, sneaky Principal Purvis, Uncle's talking penguin and a few others set out in an old blimp, the Hyena of the Skies. Several weeks later they find Uncle Pirate and his crew on a tropical island. The pirates have been imprisoned and are forced to work in a sneaker factory by, coincidentally, Purvis's no-good older brother. Wilson devises "a most terrible plan," and what follows is a ruckus after which justice prevails, booty is divided and the pirates grudgingly accept that it was mainly ignorance that held them captive. Short paragraphs, snappy dialogue and Auth's abundant comic illustrations move the story along briskly. Adventure, villains and overall mollymockery make this great armchair traveling for the pirate-loving middle-grade reader. (Ship's Articles, glossary) (Adventure. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews