Pirates Don’t Go To School! takes an amusing look at a little pirate’s first day at school. Jake’s family have heard terrible things about schools and teachers but can he convince them to let him leave The Salty Prawn and go…?
The Story: Jake really wants to go to school but his family are horrified by the thought. Finally he manages to persuade them to let him go. Miss Cherry welcomes him but then Jake’s parrot, Polly, escapes and causes chaos. Jake finally catches her and much to his surprise isn’t sent home. A busy day follows but will Jake want to go back?
Jake’s family, Ma, Pa and Gran, are convinced that school is horrible – full of rotten rules and mean teachers but Jake is determined to go (we absolutely love the illustration that shows how he persuades them!). The day doesn’t start well but once Polly has been caught Jake enjoys all the classroom activities on offer – painting, singing and story time. His family are so happy to hear that he has had fun that they make a surprising decision!
We love Magda Brol’s illustrations which are full of amusing details and include characters from a range of different cultures. Our favourite character is Polly the parrot who, once she is caught, immerses herself into classroom activities, we particularly love the picture of her painting and my daughter finds the illustration of her on the pirate ship very funny!
Polly’s escape leads to a mini tour of the school and shows the playground and the gym as well as the classroom. We even ‘meet’ the headteacher who has to react quickly as Polly swoops low across the playground – all these illustrations are great for stimulating conversations about what happens in different areas of the school.
If you have a little one starting school this year, Pirates Don’t Go To School! is a great story to show them how much fun school can be. Jake’s first day at school is so successful that it leads to his family changing their own attitudes and there’s a surprising twist at the end!
Age Range: 3 +
Author: Alan Macdonald / Illustrator: Magda Brol
Thank you to Little Tiger Press for sending a copy of Pirates Don’t Go To School! We love the ending 🙂
We’ve put together several of our favourite starting school books in a blogpost Stories to Prepare Children for their First Day at School. We also asked book bloggers to choose their favourites, their suggestions are in two blogposts: Book Bloggers Recommend Starting School Books One and Two.
You can find more starting school book suggestions on Story Snug’s Pinterest board;
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