An envelope arrived in my mailbox yesterday…and it sparked today’s Perfect Picture Book Friday story…and the craft activity that follows.
My 4-year old grandson sent me a TREASURE MAP! How exciting!
So I knew that today’s Perfect Picture Book Friday choice would have to be about…PIRATES!
Written by Cornelia Funke
Illustrated by Kerstin Meyer
Publisher: Chicken House (2005)
Ages: 4 and up
Themes:
Imagination, adv enture, problem solving, girl power
Opening Lines:
“Captain Firebeard was the terror of the high seas. His ship, the Horrible Haddock, sailed faster than the wind over the waves.”
Synopsis:
From Amazon:
“Best-selling author Cornelia Funke and acclaimed illustrator Kerstin Meyer — the winning team behind THE PRINCESS KNIGHT — deliver another glorious adventure tale that celebrates girlhood!
Ferocious pirate Captain Firebeard THINKS that he and the ruthless crew of the “Horrible Haddock” rule the high seas. But Firebeard and his band meet their match when they kidnap a small but feisty girl named Molly. Even after the pirates threaten Molly with sharks and make her scrub the deck, she is utterly defiant — and will NOT tell Firebeard who her parents are. All the while, Molly is busy sending secret messages in bottles…but to whom? When her rescuers arrive, the pirates are in for a real surprise! For the TRUE fiercest pirate on the seas is none other than Molly’s mother!”
Why I like this book:
Pirates and girl power…all rolled up in a fun adventure. The illustrations are bold and captivating…and the story will appeal to any kid who loves a pirate story.
How a parent can use this book:
- As a read-aloud
- To show children that each of us is the ‘master of our fate’
- To let girls know that they, too, can be ‘pirates’.
- To help kids realize that every problem has a solution
Related Activities:
TREASURE MAP
Photo courtesy http://www.wikihow.com
There are step-by-step instructions on how to make an ‘authentic-looking’ treasure map…using tea and a lighter here: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Pirates-Treasure-Map-for-Children
But for Busy Mom’s on the Run…here’s an alternative.
You will need: 1 piece of white construction paper (or copy paper), scissors, markers or crayons.
- Cut uneven scallops along the edges of the paper.
- Use a brown crayon or marker to add color to the edges so that it looks ‘antique’.
- Draw your map…making sure to have an ‘X’ to mark the spot of the treasure.
Talk with your kids about maps.
- Why do we need them?
- What did people do before there were any maps?
- Find pictures of old maps.
- Look at maps of the United States at different times in our history.
- Take a walk with your children and make a map of your street or neighborhood.
I wanted to share some good news! I’ve been asked to ship several boxes of Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking to Singapore for the bookstore at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content. My Parents Forum presentation is: A PICTURE BOOK IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS…USING PICTURE BOOKS AS PARENTING TOOLS TO BUILD SELF-ESTEEM AND STRENGTHEN THE PARENT-CHILD CONNECTION.
To celebrate, I am having a FREE SHIPPING promotion! Do you want to encourage your child’s creativity? Show Me How gives you 100 picture book suggestions and a simple arts and crafts activity for each one! Get FREE SHIPPING (to any US address) if you order a copy from my author website in the month of April.
Related articles
- Pirates, treasure, and more, with the Google Maps API (googlegeodevelopers.blogspot.com)
- Stereo types do exsit, even among Pirates! (fuzzscinating.com)
VIVIAN KIRKFIELD - Writer for Children 
Awww… you got a treasure map, how cool! Loved the choice of book today Vivian, Molly certainly sounds like girl-power which I would love to read. Look like very cute, colourful illustrations to. Thanks Vivian.
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Thanks so much, Diane! I noticed that a couple of others picked books that highlight ‘girl power’…we must be on the same wave-length. 🙂
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Vivian,
Have always loved Cornelia Funke, from the days of reading aloud to the family her Inkheart series. This is wonderful… parents and teachers would certainly benefit from your Perfect Picture Book Friday. Nicely done!
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Thank you so much, Carmela…I appreciate your kind words…and value your input. 🙂 One of the best things about Susanna’s Perfect Picture Book Friday is that wonderful books are revealed that we might have missed!
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I love strong girl/women books! This sounds like a fun read. You didn’t post your post on Susanna;s blog, but I caught it in my WP reader. Love the treasure map.
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Hi Pat!Yes, I was late in posting on Susanna’s linky! As a matter-of-fact, I just did it an hour ago. 🙂 I’m glad you got notification anyway…I’m subscribed to just about everyone who does PPBF, so I get their posts in my email.I’ve been busy getting ready for my trip to Chicago (next week)…just Skyped with my son and daughter-in-law…she looks definitely ready to have the baby…perhaps it will already be here by the time I land there on Thursday. 🙂
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How much fun. Congratulations in advance!
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Yup! It’s pretty exciting. 🙂 Thanks, Pat!
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Love the treasure map! And I love the name Horrible Haddock!
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I thought the same thing when I read the book…Horrible Haddock is perfect! Glad you liked the treasure map, Catherine…I need to get over and read all the other PPBF entries. 🙂
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That map that your grandson sent is awesome! He is a treasure! And this book looks spectacular. I love books with unconventional girls. I’ll have to check this one out. Thanks for sharing!
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Children are treasures…I agree. 🙂 (and so are pets :)Kids love surprises and mysteries…treasure maps are a fun activity for them.
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My kids love to make treasure maps too, but they’ve never shared them with me! My 5-year old loves maps and he has to have the one to any place we visit. He’s really good at identifying where we’re at on the map and how to get somewhere. I’m sure he won’t ask for directions when he’s a grown man, but I have no doubt he’ll be very good at navigating!
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That’s great, Milka! You won’t need a GPS with your son around. 🙂
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I love your grandson’s treasure map. There aren’t many pirate books that I haven’t loved. This one is definitely in the loved pile.
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Thanks, Sandi! Kids do love pirate books…and I was thrilled with the treasure map…it was pretty cool for a 4-year old. 🙂
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I like using maps! 😀
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I love maps as well…especially old antique maps. It’s fascinating to see what mapmakers thought the world looked like before they had people traveling around to actually describe what they had seen.
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What a colorful, wonderful map, Vivian.
Several years ago, I wrote a story for HIGHLIGHTS about “Benjamin and the Paper Trail.” During the Depression, a boy and his grandmother put the money they earned into jars and buried them in the yard and garden. They made maps leading them to the jars. When I read Grace and Gannon the story, they each got a jar and emptied their piggy banks into them and then chose places in the back yard to bury the jars. Their maps were delightful, identifying bushes and birdbaths and sidewalks as markers.
Treasure maps are terrific fun!
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That is a wonderful story, Marylin…I so appreciate you sharing this with us. 🙂 And congratulations on the ‘Highlights’ story! I submitted something to them recently for a contest they were holding…we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
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Great activity, Vivian. Love the name of the publisher ~ Chicken House. 😆
Here’s to finding TREASURES wherever we roam.
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I’ve found many treasures on your blog, Nancy. 🙂
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Hi Vivian,
I chuckled when a read the topic–Pirates because my 4-year-old grandson loves pirates too. And your grandson’s map is truly a mindful masterpiece. 🙂
Now, I really like this book. Who wouldn’t want to read about a feisty pirate girl?
Congratulations on your shipment you’re sending out. That’s fantastic! 🙂
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Glad you have a little pirate grandson also. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Tracy!
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