The Hoys - Story Snug

The Hoys by Kes Gray & Mark Chambers

OOOH ARRR! The Hoys is the perfect picture book for pirate fans who, like main character, Pirate Jake, may also have wondered what exactly ‘Ahoy’ is!

The Story: When his friends shout ‘Ahoy There’ Pirate Jake is confused – what and where can he find hoys? After an unsuccessful search for hoys around the harbour Pirate Jake goes on a long walk along the beach. But after arguing with his parrot, he ends up at the bottom of a cliff where he discovers a set of strange shaped footprints…

We love the mix of male and female pirates who live in the pirate village but Pirate Jake doesn’t feel that he fits in, he thinks that he can’t be a real pirate if he can’t see a hoy. He doesn’t even have a parrot who repeats what he says. But things change when Pirate Jake follows the footprints and discovers a secret cave in the cliffs. We won’t tell you what he finds – suffice it to say that this confused pirate finally finds the answers to his questions.

The easy to read text is incorporated into Mark Chambers’ wonderfully bold and colourful illustrations which are full of pirate details like the ‘ARR Inn’, shipwrecks and treasure! Our favourite illustration is the opening spread – we love the house on the jetty with its wonky roofs and the pirate teddy bear on the washing line 🙂

  • The Hoys jetty - Story Snug
  • The Hoys treasure - Story Snug
  • The Hoys crows nest - Story Snug

This fun adventure for pirate fans could stimulate a fun classroom writing activity. Before reading to the end of the story you could ask children to draw or write about what they think is in the cave. It would be interesting to hear what they think Pirate Jake finds before they listen to the rest of the story 🙂

Age Range: 3 +

Author: Kes Gray / Illustrator: Mark Chambers

Thank you Quarto and Netgalley for the review copy of this piratey adventure.


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14 responses to “The Hoys by Kes Gray & Mark Chambers”


  1. Kim Carberry avatar

    What a cute story and the illustrations are are just brilliant.


    1. Catherine avatar

      I love Mark Chambers’ illustrations 🙂


  2. Carol avatar

    Now I want to see a ‘hoy’ too! Such a cute story , I love it. #MMBC


    1. Catherine avatar

      You’ll have to read the book to see what a hoy looks like!!


  3. stickymudandbellylaughs avatar
    stickymudandbellylaughs

    What a lovely book! Pirate stories used to be a massive hit when my two were younger. 🙂


    1. Catherine avatar

      There’s something about pirates that fascinate most children 🙂


  4. Donna Gwinnell Lambo-Weidner avatar

    You had me with ‘pirates’! Gotta get it!


    1. Catherine avatar

      I hope you enjoy it 🙂


  5. RaisieBay avatar

    oh how fabulous. I remember when my daughter was little she had a favourite pirate story. My son had one which was mostly pictures and you had to look closely at everything to see what was going on, it would keep him occupied for ages. Sadly I can’t remember either of them now. Kids love pirates for some reason!


    1. Catherine avatar

      Yes, pirate stories are popular and I love the play of words in this one 🙂 One of the most read picture books in our house was The Pirates Next Door. I could almost recite it by heart!


  6. Jennifer Moore avatar

    Love the idea of searching for a hoy – what a great ‘hook’!


    1. Catherine avatar

      It’s a brilliant play on words 🙂


  7. Joanne avatar

    That sounds like such a fun story!


    1. Catherine avatar

      It’s perfect for pirate fans 🙂