The Great Piratical Rumbustification & The Librarian and the Robbers
Margaret Mahy, text
Quentin Blake, illustrations
J.M. Dent & Sons, 1978
2 stories: 41 and 18 pages
Age: 6 +
Reading Level: 8 +
Interests: pirates, parties, robbers, libraries, humour
Also by this author: The Dragon of an Ordinary Family, A Lion in the Meadow, The Seven Chinese Brothers, The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate
What happens when retired pirates start to get restless? It’s high time for a Piratical Rumbustification: a pirate party! The Mother Goose Service sends the Terrapin family a new babysitter one evening, a crusty old gentleman named Orpheus Clink, who comes complete with eyepatch, hook, and peg-leg. The Terrapin boys are thrilled as their new sitter commandeers their home for a wild shindig.
In the second story, robbers kidnap a small town librarian but get more than they bargained for, as Serena Laburnum turns them all into avid readers.
Two really wonderful and funny tales, with vivacious Quentin Blake illustrations. Highly recommended.
Rarest Kind of Best 