Shiver Me Letters, A Pirate ABC

Author: June Sobel

Illustrator: Henry Cole

Who can resist a good pirate story? If you're talented enough (like my husband) to read it in a pirate accent, all the better! And I am a complete sucker of a clever ABC book, so pretty much this book "had me at hello" if you know what I'm saying!

The story is about a captain and his crew searching for booty (hee, hee), in this case the letters of the alphabet other than R ... you see, the captain already has "R" 'cause that's what a pirate says, "aaaargh" ... get it? Here's an excerpt from the first pages: "R," roared the captain. "R's not enough. We need other letters to help make us tough."

Each letter is found in some pirate-themed way, and the illustrations are humorous and colorful. This book goes way beyond A is for Apple, and the letters become part of the story rather than being the story. The characters are funny in the way that only a pirate's mates can be. I love the fact that the scenery hides the letters, which makes this book great for the 2 and up crowd ... we spend time on each page finding the letters.

There isn't any deep message in this book - if that's what you're looking for, I am guessing that you don't do much of your reading to a toddler. And, hey, if I am going to read a book like a bazillion times, which mommies often do, I might as well read a book that is this much fun and so very clever!