Book Review: There Was An Old Pirate Who Swallowed A Fish

I love pirate books. I guess I've been in love with them from the time I first watched Peter Pan about a hundred years ago. Who wouldn't? They have such great outfits!

Well, my grandson and I read "There Was An Old Pirate Who Swallowed A Fish". Delightfully written by Jennifer Ward and beautifully illustrated by Steve Gray.

This is a book that builds with fun as each page is turned. We start out simply enough that "There was an old pirate who swallowed a fish. With a swoosh and a swish, down went that fish. Blimey! But that fish was slimy! Why did he swallow it? I don't know. Yo ho ho. Watch his belly grow!"
By the third page, Andrew was gleefully saying it with me.

As I read it, I picked up speed and to my grandson's delight, we raced through the paragraphs laughing hysterically at the odd pirate's antics.

Of course, we had the obligatory discussion that we never put things of this sort in our mouths. That being said, it was a fun book, with adorably funny fish and satisfying conclusion.