Madge Eekal Reviews has jumped into David Crosby’s spooktacular debut picture book, Pirates Vs. Monsters. With grizzly illustrations by Lee Cosgrove.
Pirates Hector, Sue and George are crafty, bold and all very proud about besting some of the most grizzly, gruesome monsters. But are they telling the truth? A few new visitors might just set the record straight…
This is fun tale with a good message for children – boasting and lies will be caught out! It’s a simple circular story but the ending really made me smile. (You can probably guess what this is but I’m not going to say just in case it’s not immediately obvious to you).
The book has just about everything that young pirate fanatics will be looking for. While the short rhyming text only mentions some classic pirate characteristics, the pictures add a whole lot more ensuring the full pirate experience. Indeed, the bright and bold cartoon-style pictures add every detail from the skulls and cutlasses on the walls of the pub to the eye-patch on the sleeping dog. There’s even a random treasure chest on the very final page even though this has nothing directly to do with the story.
The illustrations by Lee Cosgrove are truly superb. I particularly loved the swirling pink fog as it creeps towards the pub but suspect that children are more likely to warm to the fantastic and fun pictures of our three monsters. (My personal favourite has to be the Hockler who also appears on the book’s front cover.) The monster illustrations are incredibly inventive but also impressively expressive.
What a monstrously good review!
You can read the full review and more from Madge here!
Pick up your copy of Pirates Vs. Monsters here! What a fa-BOO-lous halloween treat!