Captain Sparklebeard is a fun, action packed story that smashes gender stereotypes and celebrates girl power and the ability to read. Book lover Peg’s thirst for escape and adventure leads her to become a pirate, a successful pirate with a sparkly beard!
The Story: Peg dreams of escaping from Step-Great-Grand Auntie and when pirates come to town looking for new crew members she asks if she can join them. But Captain Hairy-Ears isn’t impressed by small polite girls who don’t have beards so Peg sets out to prove that she can be a pirate too. She sets sail in a boat of books and the race is on to find the treasure. The journey is treacherous and Peg’s ‘Big Book of Sea Perils’ helps her outwit the pirates at every turn. But can she find the treasure before they do?
In Captain Hairy-Ear’s opinion, Peg doesn’t have any of the qualities needed to be a pirate and pirates ALWAYS have beards. But as the story progresses he realises that Peg can help him and by the end he is begging to join her crew!
Captain Sparklebeard is a determined, feisty heroine who proves that being a small, polite, literate girl can be more successful than pirates with beards. Captain Hairy-Beard can’t read which hampers his ability to decipher his treasure map and leads to him asking for her help.
We absolutely love Sam Lloyd’s bold, colourful illustrations. Peg’s pirate ship made out of books is absolutely awesome and we love the inclusive cast of characters. Peg is a fantastic role model who shows that being strong, determined and polite are all qualities that can lead to success.
Captain Sparklebeard is a page turning story packed full of action and adventure. We love feisty Peg who is undaunted by the pirates, her story and her success are inspirational to all young readers.
Age Range: 3+
Author: Timothy Knapman / Illustrator: Sam Lloyd
We won this fabulous book in a Twitter giveaway from Egmont. It’s a great prize – thank you!
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