Captain Sneer the buccaneer by Penny Morrison

Ill. by Gabriel Evans. Walker Books, 2016. ISBN 9781922179609
(Age: 4+) Recommended. Verse. Pirates. Humour. Captain Sneer is very assured of his own importance as leader of a gang of pirates on board his ship The Golden Isle. But he is somewhat scared of his stomach during storms and needs to retire to his hammock. In search of the treasure he loses his map, runs out of water and food, and is besieged by another pirate ship, but all is not lost for when they land on an island they find a cave and in that cave is what he is searching for. Another laugh out loud moment.
Each stanza ends with the children predicting the next word and there will be much laughter when the word given over the page is not what is expected.
The pencil, watercolour and gouache illustrations invite readers to look more closely at what is on the page depicting the pirate and his cronies. Readers will love searching out all the 'piratey' icons, and storm around the ghostly looking pirate ship looking at all the rigging and below decks paraphernalia, their clothing and armaments.
Talk like a pirate day is celebrated every year on 19 September, and this book is a wonderful addition to the range of books and stories available. It will keep readers very much amused with the pirate goings on and the captain who is not what he seems.
Fran Knight