Book Review: Pirates on the Farm

I love reading and reviewing children’s books.  As a mother of two, I’ve spent countless hours reading to my children.  My latest read is Pirates on the Farm written by Denette Fretz and illustrated by Gene Barretta.  I love the idea of using a good story book with the goal of imparting Christian virtues to children.  This book addresses the second greatest commandment, Love your neighbor as yourself.  But what if your neighbors are pirates?  Can you really love someone who lives their life in such a different way?

It’s a fun story that is full of lively characters.  Who doesn’t like a good pirate adventure?  Depending on the age of the child, the vocabulary might be more of a stumbling block than a teachable moment.  The author does include the Seadog Definitions at the back of the book, but words like doubloons, hardtack, landlubber, and salmagundi might actually just confuse the reader and take away from the message.  It makes this book better for the older child, I think the message will be lost on the youngest of readers and read out loud listeners.

The illustrations are whimsical.  They show movement, action, and capture the character’s personalities.  

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.