Book Review - Pirates Don't Go to Kindergarten!
When you have an imagination, where would you like to cultivate it?
This is the topic that seems to be at the center of this children’s book Pirates Don’t Go to Kindergarten! written by Lisa Robinson and illustrated by Eda Kaban.
Our main character Emma is off to school for the new year and found that her new classroom did not fit her expectations. Why? Because the new classroom is not a pirate ship!
Turns out this elementary school starts from preschool and up with each classroom having its own theme. Emma had become a huge pirate fan while in preschool with her captai--er--teacher Ms. Chu and is not ready to jump the crow’s nest per se to kindergarten and its space station decor.
The book goes back and forth with Emma as she is tempted by space station classmates and a gerbil to experience her new classroom but any little uneasiness would send her back to preschool and piratedom. Each sequence is delightfully drawn in a blend of real world switching to the imagination of Emma. You’d see Emma on the mast of a ship ordering around her fellow startled buccaneers only to be stopped by the reality of naptime on the classroom floor with the lights out.
There’s a lot of pirate terminology used, which I found endearing and clever but do feel concern for people who might not be as into pirates as some other readers. Also more space station terminology might further engross the reader in the two themed classroom worlds, not just the preschool one. Either way, a glossary of terms in the back might help readers get into the story more.
Purely as a story, Pirates Don’t Go to Kindergarten! is a delight to read.
I personally highly recommend this for bedtime story reading. Have mom or dad read this aloud and act out Emma’s lines with a blustery pirate voice.
There’s a lot of action for a kindergartner protagonist at school and Emma’s character though caught in her pirate persona is actually relatable through her vulnerability at having to accept a new environment.
As an educational or moral tale, I do admit this is blurry. The overall takeaway is that a new class is not bad if you set your mind to it and can keep your past loves close to your heart. The journey Emma takes getting there is definitely not advised for most kids as I could see Emma running back and forth between sampling her new classroom and crashing her old classroom as being very disruptive. I’d recommend parents caution their children not to copy Emma’s actions but to see why she behaved the way she did.
As an actual children’s book, I may even say that the target audience is a little older than kindergarten. The pirate terminology and the complex situations Emma imagines may not read as well for a beginner which is why I recommend parents read to the children, but it would fit for a first to third grader who got some more reading under their belt.
Regardless, with a gooey sweet moment towards the end and the actual ending a resounding trumpet for attaining the best of both worlds, Pirates Don’t Go to Kindergarten! is a must-read for all the people who are kids at heart and have the imagination to carry them through life with flair.