Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies by Carolyn Crimi, John Manders (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

"The illustrations are fresh and comical and send a clear message
about the importance of reading." — SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

Step aboard, buccaneers and book lovers! On the Salty Carrot sails a wild, rowdy band of Buccaneer Bunnies, led by Barnacle Black Ear, the baddest bunny brute of all time. His son, Henry, would rather read books than shout "Shiver me timbers!" or make prisoners walk the plank, even if it means swabbing the decks as punishment. But when a crashing, thrashing, bashing wildcat of a storm threatens them all, will Henry and his landlubbin’ library save the day?

Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz - Children's Literature

The bad, bad Buccaneer Bunnies strike fear wherever they sail on the Salty Carrot. Still, despite the repeated orders of his father, Captain Barnacle Black Ear, "the baddest bunny brute of all time," young Henry prefers to read. Taunted by the other rabbit pirates, lonely Henry is reduced to swabbing the deck when not reading his favorites, like Rabbitson Crusoe. Sure that a storm is coming but ignored by the others, Henry packs his books in crates. When the storm sinks the ship, the boxes float the crew safely to a nearby island. There Henry uses the knowledge from his books to build a hut, cook stew, and outfit them all. When he finally helps them build a new ship, they use it not to go pirating again, but to sail to a nearby library. Books have saved the day and finally won their respect. Manders uses watercolor, gouache, and pencil for his free-swinging illustrations. His double-page scenes are loaded with comic characters, caricatures of "rabbity" swabs doing pirate-y things like sharpening a hook or polishing their gold. And through it all, bespectacled Henry reads his books, and learns. The energy and vitality throughout add to the fun and the important message. 2005, Candlewick Press, Ages 4 to 8.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-Henry is not a typical buccaneer bunny. Instead of performing his proper pirating duties, he would rather read the books that he took from other ships. His father, the captain, is not proud of his son and the rest of the crew makes fun of him. When they are shipwrecked on a deserted island, however, it is Henry and his "book smarts" that save the day. Although the plot is weak, the illustrations are fresh and comical, and send a clear message about the importance of reading.-Lisa S. Schindler, Bethpage Public Library, NY Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

In this unsubtle plug for bookworms everywhere, the nerdy offspring of feared pirate Barnacle Black Ear looks up from his compulsive reading to see a bad storm coming, rescues his dad and the rest of the Salty Carrot's crew, then once ashore, quickly fashions a luxurious hut, fancy new outfits, delicious meals and other comforts from found materials-all using knowledge gained from tomes with titles like 101 Things To Do With Palm Fronds and Coconuts. Manders decks out his Chuck Jones-style illustrations in bunnies with long floppy ears and big toothy grins, along with a supporting cast of silly-looking seabirds. By the end, even Barnacle Black Ear's come round, bellowing out in oversized type: "Aye! Buccaneer Bunnies will always need books!" A worthy message, even though it's delivered with hull-smashing force, and less convincingly than in Judy Sierra's Wild About Books (2004), illustrated by Marc Brown. (Picture books. 6-8)

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