Lunch On A Pirate Ship

Lunch on a Pirate Ship by Caryl Hart, illustrated by Kristina Stephenson
 
Jack is far too busy playing to be impressed by the lunch waiting at home. A soggy chip and crunchy beans? He would much rather sail away and eat with a pirate crew. Surely pirates must have something exciting on the menu.
 
The answer is rotten fish stew—and that is only the beginning. Jack joins the hungry pirates on a fast, fantastical search for a better meal, splashing over the sea, dashing through deep caves, meeting a giant and crossing a rickety bridge towards a feast that may be too good to be true. A troll beneath the bridge soon turns lunchtime into a breathless dash back home.
 
Caryl Hart’s energetic rhymes invite children to join in with the pace, sounds and disgusted reactions, while Kristina Stephenson’s crisp, characterful illustrations fill the journey with expressive faces, comic danger and delightfully horrible food. The repeated search-and-reject pattern gives young listeners plenty to predict.
 
Funny, imaginative and warmly resolved, Lunch on a Pirate Ship is a lively read-aloud about play, appetite and perspective. Jack’s adventure does not lecture children about eating; it lets him compare some extraordinary alternatives before deciding that Mum’s home-cooked lunch looks rather good after all.