“Two Ears and One Mouth” means listen twice as much as you talk. I love that little lesson. This is the second book by Carole P Roman that I have read and I must admit that I enjoy her writing style and ability to teach without being obvious about it. I can imagine children sitting with rapt attention to see what this young sea captain will do next.

Being A Captain Is Hard Work is a whimsical kid adventure on the high seas, but when Captain No Beard thinks he knows more than his crew things get a little wild. In addition to being a fun story that kids 9 and younger will enjoy reading, or sharing, it offers some great life lessons about teamwork and listening to others. At the back of the book is also handy chart detailing different cloud types. In a classroom setting it could be used for science or social behavior lessons. It would certainly make a fine addition to any child’s home library.

The illustrations by Bonnie Lemaire are large and colorful, conveying the emotions of the characters in the story beautifully.

5 stars
I received a copy of this book in exchange for fair and honest review. ( )

In this 10th episode of the series, Captain No Beard is in a hurry to get to Dew Rite Volcano. He’s in such a hurry that he doesn’t listen to his crew.
Mongo warns the captain about the dark clouds on the horizon.
Zach is trying to raise the flag, but the wind is getting stronger. He’s not sure the flag should be hoisted in such bad weather.
Polly is sent to the galley to make but squawks about the impending storm.
But Captain No Beard doesn’t care. He doesn’t listen to his crew. And before long, the storm Mongo first warned about is tossed the Flying Dragon around like autumn leaves. There is almost a fire in the galley, and he almost loses Zach.
The illustrations are gorgeous. I love the Cloud Key, which identified the various clouds. Who knew there 10 types of clouds? I found only one problem: lack of diversity. Oh yes there were animals and people, but Roman missed a teachable opportunity. The lack of color made the teamwork the crew demonstrated and the lesson the captain learned weak and constricting. That’s why I gave Being a Captain is Hard Work 4 out of 5 stars. ( )

Captain No Beard and his crew have set sail once again. They are all working hard on the ship. Mongo the monkey tells the captain he believes a storm is coming. The captain disagrees. He tells Zach to raise the flag even though Zach tells him the wind is too strong. Hallie tells him it is getting too cold and he disagrees. Captain No Beard believes as Captain he knows everything. He must learn that a captain must learn to listen as much as he must give orders. The end of this book has a page devoted to teaching you about the different types of clouds. ( )

Captain No Beard's ship, the Flying Dragon, is headed to Dew Rite Volcano. Captain No Beard is so excited about this trip that he won't hear when his crew tells him about the dark clouds, or the rough waves, or the whipping winds. He even thinks Dew Rite Volcano is to the North instead of West. He is the captain, so he knows better about seas, and clouds, and winds, and ships, and crews!
Only when things get really bad, Captain No Beard understands why we have two ears and one mouth: so we listen twice as much as we speak!

A smart story about how we can learn from others, and how team work make things easier and better. Captain No Beard is an adorable character. The tale benefits from the illustrations, which are colorful and vivid. I'm really interested in read more in this series.

I received this book from the author via Bostick Communications in exchange for an honest review.

Check out more children's book reviews in my Reviews in Chalk Blog! ( )