Archie and the Pirates by Marc Rosenthal

From the Publisher

Ahoy, landlubbers, prepare yerselves for a rip-roaring adventure... with a shipwrecked monkey, a sweet-singing ibis, a ferocious tiger, and a band of rough smelly, no-good pirates!

Coconuts fly, danger lurks, and only one clever monkey can save the day: ARCHIE!

Publishers Weekly

The eponymous hero is a clever, courageous monkey who makes lemonade out of lemons (or the banana equivalent thereof) when he is marooned on a desert island. Archie quickly makes friends with his fellow animal inhabitants and then rallies them to fend off an invasion by a “rough and smelly” band of pirates, whose idea of cruel taunting is to stick out their tongues and grunt “HAR,” after capturing Archie's friend Beatrice, a tiger. With a retro design aesthetic and swashbuckling sense of adventure, Rosenthal (Phooey!) showcases a gift for knowing how to pace action—he lets readers savor the details of Archie's settling in, then hits the visual accelerator when the baddies appear. His text feels too literal at times, especially give the crispness and detail of his drawings—it can feel like he's giving directions rather than telling a story. But mostly he's great fun to read aloud (“Tons of rotten, squishy, smelly mangoes, kiwis, papayas, and bananas... rain down on the confused pirates”), his snappy, breathless style carrying just enough of a wink to flatter readers' nascent sense of irony. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

School Library Journal

K-Gr 1—Archie, who is asleep in bed, "drifting and floating" on a blue-green sea, awakes to find himself on a strange island. After hiding from a tiger that doesn't see him, the monkey builds himself a house high in a coconut grove. He soon meets an ibis named Clarice and the tiger, Beatrice, who turns out to be friendly, and the three become inseparable. When pirates capture Beatrice, Archie and Clarice and the other animals attack them with scary coconut heads and catapults stocked with rotten fruit. Archie then announces that the animals "make a good team" and should all be neighbors. The final spread depicts a tranquil setting with raccoons gardening, birds singing, and the three friends relaxing in their yellow, thatch-roof homes. The colorful cartoons are filled with detail, make good use of white space, and enhance the text. Curious George fans are sure to enjoy this one.—Michele Sealander, Hamburg School, NJ

Kirkus Reviews

An utterly splendid bit of storytelling that acts like a cross between My Father's Dragon and Curious George, with a little Babar thrown in for good measure. When a monkey named Archie accidentally washes up on the shores of a tropical island, it's not two minutes before he's found food and built himself a jaunty shelter. The island provides friends in the form of an ibis named Clarice and the tiger Beatrice. Unfortunately, cruel pirates (led by the deliciously named LaFaargh) soon come ashore and capture Beatrice. Using his monkey smarts, Archie outwits the nasty foes and all the local animals build homes by his side. Rosenthal's remarkable style has all the pizzazz of modern storytelling with the look and feel of old-time picture-book classics. Brightly hued watercolors repeat shades of orange, black and green, giving the book a lively feel. Bound to be a family favorite oft repeated, this is one swell book. (Picture book. 4-8)

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