Reviews

The Treasure of Pirate Frank by Mal Peet, Jez Tuya, Elspeth Graham

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in_and_out_of_the_stash's review

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4.0

Rated on the basis of children liking it. Pity the adults who have to read it.

roseannmvp's review

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4.0

a perfectly pleasant Rhyming text and beautiful, fun, colorful illustrations make this a hit for Pirate Story time! Adorable twist at the end will make the girls proud! Adorable!

danicamidlil's review

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4.0

House that Jack Built but with pirates(!) and fun surprise.

A cute repetitive tale about a pirate boy and his dog following the treasure map and the journey they take to find the treasure. A little on the long side, and would be great for preschool or kindergarten aged children.

lagobond's review

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5.0

This is the house that Jack built... in a fantastic world of pirates and hidden treasure... featuring a boy and his adorable Corgi, a large cast of animal characters, and of course Pirate Frank! An endearing story of a daring adventure, an unexpected find, and

Spoiler

a hasty retreat to snuggly safety

at the end of the day.

I love the dynamic illustrations: immersive landscapes, lots of funny details for kids to discover, expressive body and facial language, wonderful use of color. The text is engaging, with perfect pacing and brilliant use of typography to encourage expressive reading.

I just learned that this type of storytelling (The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, The House that Jack Built, [b:We're Going on a Bear Hunt|201126|We're Going on a Bear Hunt|Michael Rosen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388274854l/201126._SX50_.jpg|1974395], etc.) is called a chain tale, or cumulative story/song/tale. A rhythmic story with a narration that builds upon itself, adding on and repeating previous information. The repetition makes the story predictable, which is soothing for children and particularly helpful for beginning readers. I'm so glad I found this book.

panda_incognito's review

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3.0

The illustrations are cute, and the twist ending was a fun idea, but I don't like books that repeat the same lines with each progression in the style of "The House That Jack Built." That was the deal-breaker for this book when it comes to storytime, because I don't want to read those details aloud over and over again for the entire book.