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The Pirates are Coming!

Book Synopsis

A hilarious retelling of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, with not one but TWO twists!

Tom has a VERY important job; every day he climbs to the top of the hill and watches for pirate ships. But when he rings his bell and shouts !”PIRATES!” a few too many times – and there’s NO pirate ship – the villagers begin to get tired of hiding. So what will happen when the pirates really do show up?

Repeated phrases make it easy and fun for young adventurers to join in with the storytelling, and witty, bold artwork by Matt Hunt adds to the fun, with new and hilarious things to spot on every rereading. This inventive picture book has so many surprises in store and a wonderfully diverse range of characters and family groupings.

John Condon has been shortlisted for various awards including the Lovereading4kids Children’s Book Awards. Matt Hunt has been nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal, and his book Stephen Hawking Little People, BIG DREAMS was an Amazon bestseller.

Every Nosy Crow paperback picture book comes with a free “Stories Aloud” audio recording. Just scan the QR code and listen along!

Related activity sheets available on the Nosy Crow website.

Our Review Panel says...

Every day Tom climbs to the top of a high hill and looks for pirate ships so that he can tell the villagers to go into hiding. The problem is that he keeps ringing his bell and shouting “PIRATES!” – but the vessels turn out not to be pirate ships. The villagers start to get tired of hiding, but what happens when one day a real pirate ship does arrive?

The Pirates are Coming is a fun new retelling of Aesop’s fable of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. The repeated phrases with their implied actions and vocal expression means that this is a fun book to read with young children.

Matt Hunt’s lively and vibrant illustrations add an extra splash of humour to this pirate theme picturebook. The inventive ways in which the villagers hide are particularly funny. The Pirates are Coming is a vibrant and fresh approach towards an old favourite cautionary tale.