What a witty feast of sing-song verse and visuals this is. Chris Riddell’s vibrant characters whish and whoosh in rhythm with Neil Gaiman’s rambunctious rhymes to create a hearty banquet befitting a pirate crew.
The swaggering story begins when a brother and sister are introduced to their babysitter, a certain scar-faced, grey-haired, peg-legged ship’s cook called Long John Mc Ron. Moments after their parents have left, Long John opens the door to an entire crew of hungry pirates, and so he does what any respectable ship’s cook would do – he cooks up “Pirate Stew! Pirate Stew! Eat it and you won’t be blue. You can be a pirate too!”
With a rib-tickling twist that will send readers into fits of giggles, Pirate Stew is buccaneering blast of a book that demands to be read aloud, acted out and treasured like ill-gotten gains!
Meet LONG JOHN McRON, SHIP'S COOK . . . and the most unusual babysitter you've ever seen.
Long John has a whole crew of wild pirates in tow, and - for two intrepid children - he's about to transform a perfectly ordinary evening into a riotous adventure beneath a pirate moon. It's time to make some PIRATE STEW.
Pirate Stew! Pirate Stew! Pirate Stew for me and you!
Pirate Stew, Pirate Stew Eat it and you won't be blue
You can be a pirate too!
Marvellously silly and gloriously entertaining, this tale of pirates, flying ships, donut feasts and some rather magical stew is perfect for all pirates, both young and old. With a deliciously rhyming text from master storyteller Neil Gaiman, and spellbinding illustrations by the supremely talented Chris Riddell, three-times-winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal, this is the picture book of the year! Joyful, quirky and action-packed, it makes a spectacular and magical gift.
Neil Gaiman is the nearest thing children's books have to a rock star: if you enjoy fantasy, he is irresistible - The Times
Splendid ... A feast for the ears and eyes - The i
Readers may wish that Talk Like a Pirate Day lasted all year long - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Highly enjoyable ... the perfect ingredient for a raucous read-aloud. Riddell's predictably fabulous illustrations are ablaze with colour and detail - Booklist
A riotous rhyming picture book by a pair of ingenious book-aneers ... A buccaneering blast of a book that demands to be read aloud, acted out and treasured like ill-gotten gains! - LoveReading4Kids
The talented dream team of Gaiman and Riddell have done it again. Fantastic rhyming story with the most fabulously intricate illustrations. I could look at them for hours. Perfect for reading out loud or for any little readers, piratical or otherwise - NetGalley Reviewer
Gaiman's literary prowess and Riddell's genius illustrations come together again in a brilliant book, which is guaranteed to fly off bookshelves and library shelves around the world - NetGalley Reviewer
Fans of Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell are going to love this. Funny and magical and bound to be a great story before bedtime - NetGalley Reviewer
Featuring a flying pirate ship, a delicious donut shop and a rollicking rhyme by Neil Gaiman (which is best read aloud for full pirate effect), Pirate Stew is a great book for storytime with brilliant illustration (featuring a mixed race family) by former Children's Laureate Chris Riddell - BookTrust
an anarchical rhyming romp that will keep you Yo Ho Ho-ing on every reading ... Mad and magnificent - Daily Mail
Pirate Stew is a very enjoyable book with very colourful pictures. The story line is funny with a twist at the end - Toddle About
Author
About Neil Gaiman
Bestselling author Neil Gaiman has long been one of the top writers in modern comics, as well as writing books for readers of all ages. He is listed in the Dictionary of Literary Biography as one of the top ten living post-modern writers, and is a prolific creator of works of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama.
Gaiman was the creator/writer of monthly cult DC Comics horror-weird series, Sandman, which won nine Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. Norman Mailer said of Sandman: "Along with all else, Sandman is a comic strip for intellectuals, and I say it's about time."
A self-confessed “feral kid who was raised in libraries”, Author of the Month Neil Gaiman, spent much of his childhood devouring the books of J.R.R. Tolkein, Edgar Allan Poe, C.S. Lewis, Michael Morcock and a host of others. Once the biographer of Douglas Adams and Duran Duran, he has achieved cult status in the world of Science Fiction with his award winning, unpatronising writing for young people.
Born and raised in England, Neil Gaiman now lives near Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has somehow reached his forties and still tends to need a haircut.
See Neil speaking about his new novel, Fortunately, the Milk, a time-travelling adventure for young readers featuring aliens, dinosaurs, volcano gods and a pint of milk that saves the universe!
To download a teachers' guide to the Fortunately, the Milk... - of interest to parents too! - click here!
“Pirate Stew began in early 2009, when I scribbled a handful of lines of a poem about the sorts of ingredients that would go into a Pirate Stew down on a scrap of paper. I kept the scrap of paper in my wallet as the years went by, and would look at it and feel guilty. And then my son was two, and I thought, I should write a book I can read to him when he's older, and I remembered the scrap of paper, and knew that it was time to tell that story. It is a most piratical adventure, intended for anyone of any age who likes pirates, cooking, swashbuckling and/or doughnuts, who wants a fun book to read aloud and share, or who just wants to lose themselves in Chris Riddell's gloriously piratical pictures.”Neil Gaiman