Pirates on the Farm, by Denette Fretz, is an entertaining children’s book that teaches a poignant lesson on loving your neighbour. The publisher recommends this book for children ages 4-8, although I think even that age range could be stretched depending on the child. The story is beautifully illustrated (by Gene Barretta) and extremely engaging, through the humorous portrayal of what happens when a crew of pirates moves in to a proper southern community.
Using the perspective of the daughter in the family who lives next door, the author does a great job of showcasing different responses through the different family members: the little brother wants to join in on all the pirates antics, the mom wants to move out of town, and the dad accepts and helps out his new neighbours but doesn’t lose his own identity in the process.
When the town locals finally band together to kick the pirates out of town, a heartwarming twist makes this story not only a parable about accepting others but truly showing the love of Christ.
At the back, this book features an appendix of “totally true seadog definitions,” which will entertain older children, and the final page includes a letter to parents and some discussion questions to help kids connect the message of this story with action in their own life.
All in all, I think this book is a great resource for a children’s library or for a family with school-age children. There is a lot of depth contained in the simple language, and this book could easily be a favourite of siblings who are different ages.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through BookSneeze.com® in exchange for my honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not compensated in any other way.