Tim Collins æ 6 free read
The Long-Lost Secret Diary of the Worlds Worst Pirate (The Long-Lost Secret Diary of...)
I would have liked to have had books by Tim Collins in my own childhood, my children have certainly enjoyed some of Tim Collin’s books that create a clever blend of silliness, humour, drama and historically accurate information. The factual information is presented in ‘get real’ boxes, side panels type footnotes. The illustrations by Sarah Horne add to and enhance the humour in the text. Pirates are always favorites for primary age children and ‘The secret diary of the world’s worst pirate’ is a winner in the Adrian Mole with history diary type genre. The children loved the 18th century historical detail, giving insight into the food, canon, ships, surgery, yes surgery not by the ship's doctor but by the ship's carpenter. The unfortunate Tom is travelling with his parents when it is attacked by pirates headed by Captain Bartholomew Morgan, Tom is separated from them, signs up with the pirates and starts to learn pirating skills the humour comes from the fact that he’s not very good at being a pirate obviously as it states in the title of the book, but he learns along with the reader. This was a light hearted and highly enjoyable read with a clever blend of fact and fiction and did hold the attention of a reluctant reader with a Roald Dahl/David Walliams taste in books. The Long-Lost Secret Diary of the Worlds Worst Pirate (The Long-Lost Secret Diary of...) Hapless. Our hero is hapless, and as I read this I realized that almost no one writes children's books that combine silly fantasy with realistic behavior. Allow me to explain.
The setup is straightforward. When young Tom's ship is attacked by pirates everyone is taken from the ship and set adrift. Except for Tom, who hides in the cargo bay, and ends up sailing with the pirates who have taken over the ship. When he's discovered, Tom signs on as a new member of the pirate crew and resolves to live out his dreams of searching for pirate treasure and plunder. Now, this setup could lend itself to very funny hijinks, or a ripping adventure tale, (think Treasure Island), or a cartoony sort of fantasy adventure, or something similar that you've probably read before.
But, at every turn we get a twist, a surprise, and an unexpected tone. Tom isn't terribly upset to be separated from his parents and seems rather indifferent to their fates. Tom has no problem signing on with the pirates, although he's rather disappointed in how normal and sort of boring they are. He tries his hand at various pirate skills, (setting sail, working the cannon, carpenter's mate), and isn't very good at much of anything. He's a poor plunderer and not much at fighting. At every step we have an odd collision of the fiction/fantasy plot and the practical problems a kid would have if the plot were actually really happening. And we keep switching back and forth between funsy pirate plotting and reality, (Tom holds the bucket to catch the fractured foot that the carpenter saws off of an injured crew member).
So, you end up with an unusual middle view it's as though you took an adult pirate adventure and wrote it down and sillied it up a bit to be told through the eyes of a kid, or you took a silly kid fantasy and wrote it up and added a dose of realism. (The Get Real factoid boxes that elaborate on the historical accuracy of the action enhances that funny/real whipsaw effect).
Our narrator is Tom, who is writing about his experiences in his diary. He's sort of deadpan, but often his tone changes from carefree and childish to serious and perceptive, so again we get that same sort of whipsaw effect. He messes up a lot, but he's game and he learns from his errors, so you end up with a weirdly appealing mashup of a Dahl/Walliams/Dickens/Stevenson hero.
My sense of this book was all over the place, but I finally came down on the plus side mostly because of its fresh, unusual and idiosyncratic approach. I could see a young reader with an adventurous taste in styles getting into this book, (and the other Collins books), and it might be just the thing to grab the attention of a reader who wavers between fiction and non fiction. A really interesting find.
(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.) The Long-Lost Secret Diary of the Worlds Worst Pirate (The Long-Lost Secret Diary of...) Thomas is travelling from England to a Caribbean island when their ship is boarded by a pirate crew. The pirates swap boats because theirs is in such bad shape, but Thomas hides and stays aboard the newly crowned pirate ship.
Thomas becomes a member of the pirate crew, and struggles to find his place among the pirates. The Long Lost Secret Diary of the World’s Worst Pirate tells of Thomas’s adventures in diary format. Every few entries, there are “Get Real” moments, which teach about real pirate life in the 18th Century.
This book is perfect for the pirate enthusiast—kids who want to learn all about pirates will delight in this tale. It is written for the young middle grade aged reader and is not too scary for them to read.
I received an advance reader copy of the book in exchange for my unbiased review. The Long-Lost Secret Diary of the Worlds Worst Pirate (The Long-Lost Secret Diary of...) I chose to read this book because the title sounded like fun. Clearly, my method for picking books is very scientific. Turns out I was right, this is a fun read. The story is great, the illustrations are great, and the historical facts about pirates ties everything together.
This book shows kids that sometimes, what you think you want is not as great as you thought it would be. Without having all of the facts, you could end up making a decision that you regret.
The young main character dreams of being a pirate, thinking he knows all about them, and will have grand adventures. Once he gets his wish, he finds out that the image he had in his head and reality, are not on the same page. As he starts to discover what being a pirate is really all about, he starts wishing he had never dreamed of an exciting pirate life, and starts wishing for the life he would have had.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.
Author: Tim Collins
Publisher: North Star Editions Jolly Fish Press
Publication Date: 19 Sep 2017 The Long-Lost Secret Diary of the Worlds Worst Pirate (The Long-Lost Secret Diary of...) Fab The Long-Lost Secret Diary of the Worlds Worst Pirate (The Long-Lost Secret Diary of...)
