My dad thinks he's a pirate by Katrina Germein. Illus. by Tom Jellett

The endpapers will set kids laughing as they spy the image of Dad from the previous Germein/Jellett My Dad series of books dressed up with an eyepatch and crossed bones. A most recognisable piratical image!

Pirate Dads will be just as popular as children laugh at the humour inherent in a Dad trying hard to be funny. Puns galore along with riddles and knock knock jokes will have the target audience and many older readers laughing out loud. Puns on the word aye, wave, sail, sandwich, sure and so on abound as the family heads for the ocean to spend a day at the beach and fish. More gags are found on the jetty where dad is having trouble landing a catch but digging for buried treasure after having a windy time, sees a chest discovered.

Very funny, involving a wonderful look at family life, in sync with the others in the series, Dad is full of lame jokes, and is endearing and central to the family unit. Children will love seeing him take the family to the beach, one child on his shoulders, fishing with the other while Mum sits of the beach reading.

His continuous run of jokes, riddles and puns make for a very funny read aloud, and kids will pick the book up eagerly for themselves to learn the jokes to share them with their friends and family.

Children will enjoy seeing all the accoutrements of being a pirate, with Dad sporting an earring, an eye patch, a funny hat and left unshaven, while teaching a parrot to talk, carrying a sword and looking for treasure.

Jellett’s illustrations set the scene perfectly, inviting readers into the family, seeing how they interact, looking for clues which underlies their closeness. A wonderfully warm and positive image of family is spread over every page, highlighting the things families do together, modelling a happy involved family group.

Themes: Pirates, Fathers, Family, Relationships, Humour.

Fran Knight